JGB yields fall sharply after finance minister says to seek ways for pension funds to boost investments

TOKYO: Japanese government bond (JGB) yields fell sharply after the country’s finance minister said the government would encourage domestic pension funds to buy more Japanese financial assets.  

Here are a few details:

The benchmark 10-year JGB yield fell 7.5 bps to 2.8%.

The 20-year JGB yield fell 8 bps to 3.785%. Yields move inversely to prices. Japan’s finance minister Satsuki Katayama said on Friday the nation would seek measures to encourage Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) and other pension funds to boost investments in Japanese financial assets.

The yields were on the rise until the previous session as investors weighed fiscal expansion and ongoing inflation after Japan disclosed plans to spend more than 370 trillion yen ($2.28 trillion) in combined public and private investment through fiscal 2040.