TOKYO: Japanese government bond (JGB )yields fell on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve’s November policy meeting minutes signalled a slower pace of future interest rate hikes.

The 20-year JGB yield fell 0.5 basis point to 1.055% and the 30-year JGB yield fell 1.5 basis points to 1.440%.

The 40-year JGB yield fell 1 basis point to 1.680% ahead of an auction for the notes with the same maturity in the next session.

Minutes of the Fed’s last meeting showed a “substantial majority” of the central bank’s policymakers agreed it would “likely soon be appropriate” to slow the pace of interest rate hikes.

“I got an impression that the minutes were mostly dominated by dovish tone,” said Toru Moritani, chief market economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.

Japan’s super-long yields fall to more than 2-week low

The two-year JGB yield fell 0.5 basis point to -0.030%.

The five-year yield fell 0.5 basis point to 0.075%.

The 10-year JGB yield was flat at 0.240%. Benchmark 10-year JGB futures rose 0.08 yen to 149.42, with a trading volume of 9,293 lots.