Japan yields set for biggest monthly rise
TOKYO — Benchmark Japanese government bond (JGB) yields rose on Friday, headed for their biggest monthly rise since last July, as investors positioned for further policy tightening by the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
The 10-year JGB yield ticked 1 basis point (bp) higher to 1.065 percent as of 0423 GMT, set for a 19.5 bps advance for May.
The yield soared briefly to 1.10 percent on Thursday, the highest since July 2011.
BoJ policymakers suddenly pivoted to a more hawkish tone near the start of this month as the yen’s slump to 34-year lows to the dollar threatened the central bank’s outlook for a positive cycle of wage increases driven by mild inflation.
That has put investors on guard for not just higher interest rates, following the first hike since 2007 in March, but for a start to quantitative tightening, particularly after the BoJ blindsided traders with a surprise cut in the amount of bonds it offered to buy at a regular purchase operation on May 13.
The central bank releases its bond purchase plan for June at 0800 GMT (4 p.m. in Manila), although the consensus view is for no change, said Naomi Muguruma, senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
“There’s no reason to reduce purchases since yields have been rising already,” she said.
And given that investors are reluctant to buy JGBs amid speculation that more purchase cuts could be imminent, “I don’t think the BoJ’s operations desk would dare to make further changes” following the May 13 cut, considering it made “market participants concerned that the BoJ could change the bond purchase amounts on a whim,” Muguruma added.
The BoJ will decide to start tapering the size of its bond-buying by end-July, according to nearly two-thirds of economists polled by Reuters earlier this month.
Benchmark 10-year JGB futures fell 0.18 yen to 143.02 on Friday, languishing near the previous session’s low of 142.85, a level not seen since July 2013.
The 20-year JGB yield rose 1.5 bps to 1.880 percent, and the 30year yield gained 2.5 bps to 2.225 percent.
The five-year yield added 0.5 bp to 0.635 percent.
The two-year yield advanced 0.5 bp to reach 0.405 percent for the first time since April 2009.