The secondary-market yield on newly issued 10-year Japanese government bonds, the benchmark for long-term interest rates, briefly rose to 2.990% in the Tokyo bond market, bringing it close to 3%. Expectations that the Bank of Japan will accelerate the pace of its rate hikes are spreading through the market.
In the Tokyo bond market on the 1st, the secondary-market yield on newly issued 10-year Japanese government bonds, the key benchmark for long-term interest rates, briefly rose to 2.990%, up 0.050 percentage point from the previous day's close. It reached its highest level in 30 years, since September 1996, and approached the key 3% threshold.
Selling pressure on bonds intensified in Tokyo after long-term interest rates rose in the US market the previous day. Market participants are increasingly expecting the Bank of Japan to accelerate the pace of its rate hikes, while concerns over Japan's deteriorating fiscal position are also pushing up long-term interest rates.
In the morning session of the Tokyo stock market, the Nikkei 225 traded ¥261.60 below the previous day's close.