TOKYO, July 29 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond (JGB)
yields mostly fell on Wednesday, tracking a decline in U.S.
Treasury yields overnight as investors awaited the Federal
Reserve's policy decision and weighed Middle East risks for oil
prices and inflation.
Here are a few details:
* The benchmark 10-year JGB yield fell 1.5
basis points (bps) to 2.760%. Yields move inversely to bond
prices.
* "AI- and semiconductor-related shares continued to fall in
overseas markets yesterday. If risk-off sentiment intensifies
today, pressure for a twist steepening of the JGB yield curve is
likely to build, as it did yesterday," Keisuke Tsuruta, senior
bond strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities,
said in a note.
* U.S. Treasury yields fell overnight as oil prices
continued to ease on hopes for a lasting resolution to the
U.S.-Iran conflict.
* Traders were also awaiting the Fed's interest rate
decision on Wednesday, with markets pricing in a 33% chance of a
25-basis-point hike.
* The U.S. military said on Tuesday it intercepted multiple
ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards U.S. forces in the
Middle East. Oil prices rose more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday
on shrinking U.S. crude inventories.
* The two-year yield, the most sensitive to
Bank of Japan policy rates, fell 2.5 bps to 1.465%. The
five-year yield fell 2.5 bps to 1.980%.
* Among longer-dated maturities, the 20-year JGB yield
slid 1 bp to 3.655%. The 30-year yield
sank 0.5 bp to 3.975%. The yield on the 40-year
JGB, Japan's longest tenor, rose 0.5 bp to
4.035%.
* The BOJ will hold a two-day policy meeting from Thursday.
The central bank is expected to keep interest rates steady but
leave scope for further hikes through hawkish communication,
while likely remaining ambiguous on the pace and timing of
future increases.
(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)