JGBs rebound as US Treasuries' retreat fades for now

28 Nov, 2016

TOKYO: Japanese government bond prices rebounded on Monday as U.S. Treasuries stopped their retreat for now, with Tokyo shares snapping a 7-day winning streak to give safe-haven debt some breathing space.

Firm results from the Bank of Japan's regular debt-buying operation on nudged JGB yields lower. The central bank bought a total of 710 billion yen ($6.34 billion) of JGBs on Monday.

The benchmark 10-year JGB yield fell 2.5 basis points to 0.010 percent, moving away from a 9-month high of 0.045 percent struck on Friday. The 30-year yield was down 3.5 basis points at 0.570 percent.

Traders said the decline in yields in the superlong JGB maturities such as 30-years was more pronounced due to bids from index-following investors such as life insurers and pension funds, which usually extend the duration of their debt portfolios towards the turn of each month.

The 10-year Treasury note yield fell on Monday to 2.330 percent after rising to a 16-month high of 2.417 percent last week. Tokyo's Nikkei was down 0.4 percent, poised to fall for the first trading day in eight as the yen rebounded against the dollar.

Copyright Reuters, 2016

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