Medium-term Japanese government bonds gained as lower crude prices and easing fears of a U.S.-Iran conflict reduced near-term inflation concerns, though caution toward longer-dated debt persisted.
Japanese government bonds rose on the morning of the 27th, led by medium-term maturities, as lower crude prices and easing fears of a U.S.-Iran conflict softened inflation concerns and reversed some of the prior week’s selling. The yield on newly issued 2-year JGBs fell 0.020 percentage points to 1.495%, while the 5-year yield dropped 0.030 percentage points to 2.000%, both moves reflecting higher prices. The shift followed a New York Times report on the 25th that U.S. President Trump had decided against launching a large-scale attack on Iran for the time being, helping push oil futures lower and ease worries about energy-driven price pressures. The move was not uniform across the market: long-term bonds in the super-long sector had not traded as of that morning, underscoring continuing investor caution over Japan’s domestic monetary policy and fiscal outlook. The development adds detail to an earlier pullback in Japan’s 10-year yield to around 2.76% as energy-market tensions eased, even as inflation pressures, fiscal concerns and expectations for Bank of Japan tightening remain in focus. In equities, the retreat in Middle East risk also helped support sentiment in Tokyo, with the Nikkei Stock Average expected to trade between 64,000 and 65,500 around the previous weekend’s close of 64,611.