TOKYO: Japanese government bonds edged down on Wednesday, though moves were small as investors awaited the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's meeting later in the session for clues to the timing of an expected interest rate increase. Investors will carefully examine the Fed's statement at the end of its regular two-day policy meeting.

While some expect the first hike to come as early as September, many economists say it could come later in the year, or even next year, depending on the strength of US economic data.

The Bank of Japan offered to buy 375 billion yen ($3.03 billion) of JGBs in the 1-year to 3-year zone, 425 billion yen of JGBs in the 3-year to 5-year zone, 240 billion yen of JGBs in the 10-year to 25-year zone, and 140 billion yen of JGBs in the over 25-year zone under its asset purchase programme.

The results indicated a higher-than-expected inclination to sell, according to market participants, which weighed on JGB prices and pushed up yields.

The benchmark 10-year JGB yield edged up half a basis point to 0.405 percent, while the 30-year yield rose 1.5 basis points to 1.415 percent.

The 10-year JGB futures price ended up 0.04 point at 147.59 .

Copyright Reuters, 2015