TOKYO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Japanese government bonds

(JGBs) fell on Monday, pushing yields higher to mirror moves in

U.S. Treasury yields last week, as investors awaited a 20-year

bond auction in the next session.

The 20-year JGB yield rose 1.5 basis points

to 2.575%, its highest level since July 24.

The 10-year JGB yield rose 1.5 bps to 1.575%,

its highest since July 28.

Yields move inversely to bond prices.

Market participants are weighing higher U.S. Treasury yields

from Friday, and there is caution ahead of Japan's 20-year bond

auction on Tuesday, said Keisuke Tsuruta, a senior fixed income

strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

The 20-bond auction will witness relatively firm demand as

the yield level is attractive, with the gap between 10-year

bonds and 20-year bonds hovering around 100 bps,

said Tsuruta.

Demand from pension funds who want to rebalance their

portfolios following a rally in Japanese shares, will underpin

the auction, he added.

Both the Nikkei index and the Topix index

extended gains from last week to hit record levels on Monday.

The 30-year JGB yield rose 2 bps to 3.115%.

The five-year yield rose 1 bp to 1.12%.

Two-year JGBs have not been traded as of 0530 GMT.

U.S. Treasury yields rose on Friday, with 10-year yields

hitting a two-week high as traders reduced bets that the Federal

Reserve will make a larger-than-usual interest rate cut next

month. U.S. Treasury yields were also pulled higher by increases

in European government bond yields.