TOKYO, June 4 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond (JGB)

yields were varied on Thursday, with the benchmark edging higher

while short-end yields extended gains as investors weighed

firmer Bank of Japan rate-hike expectations and global inflation

concerns.

Here are a few details:

* The yield on the 10-year JGB rose 0.5 basis

point (bp) to 2.645%. The two-year yield, the one

most sensitive to Bank of Japan policy rates, climbed 1 basis

point to 1.410%, marking a two-day streak of gains. Yields move

inversely to bond prices.

* JGBs traded in a cautious range as markets digested

signals from BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda, who said on Wednesday the

central bank must discuss the pros and cons of raising interest

rates if upside inflation risks outweigh downside risks to the

economy.

* His comments reinforced expectations that the BOJ will

raise its key rate from 0.75% to 1% at its June 15-16 meeting.

* "The speech delivered yesterday by Bank of Japan Governor

Ueda contained many important hawkish messages," Ataru Okumura,

a senior rate strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities, said in a

note. "It is possible that he will raise interest rates at the

June meeting while emphasizing more strongly than before the

BOJ's intention to continue raising rates beyond that point."

* Inflation concerns hung over global debt markets, with

U.S. Treasury yields climbing overnight amid renewed U.S.-Iran

hostilities that pushed oil prices higher and revived inflation

concerns.

* "Negative factors surrounding ultra-long-term bonds, such

as inflation concerns and worries about fiscal expansion, have

not been resolved," Keisuke Tsuruta, a senior bond strategist at

Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, wrote in a note.