JGB yields track U.S. peers lower on bets Fed may slow rate-hike pace
TOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond (JGB) yields fell on Thursday, tracking a decline in U.S. Treasury yields on renewed speculation that the Federal Reserve may slow its rapid pace of interest rate hikes.
Yields on beaten-down long-dated notes fell, with the 20-year JGB yield retreating 5 basis points to 1.140%. The 30-year JGB yield fell 3 basis points to 1.515%.
"It seems that those who had sold bonds, as well as futures, have bought them back as the trend of overseas yields may change," said Keiko Onogi, senior JGB strategist at Daiwa Securities.
Yields on those notes hit multi-year highs earlier this week amid speculation that the Bank of Japan may change its ultra-low policy, which prompted the central bank to increase the amount of bonds it had planned to buy in the day's operations on Wednesday.
Reacting to the move, the yields on 20- and 30-year bonds fell sharply lower.
On Thursday, the two-year JGB yield fell 2 basis points to -0.045%, its lowest since Oct. 19, and the five-year yield fell 1.5 basis points to 0.075%, its lowest since Oct. 14.
The 10-year JGB yield was flat at 0.250%, on top of the BOJ's policy band ceiling.
Benchmark 10-year JGB futures rose 0.29 point to 148.61, with trading volume of 16,306 lots.
The 40-year JGBs did not get traded and the yield stayed at 1.765%. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Neha Arora)
