Japanese government bond prices moved in a narrow range on Friday, with many market players retreating to the sidelines ahead of the New Year holidays. Benchmark 10-year JGB futures fell 0.09 point to 152.06, with a low trading volume of 14,289 lots.

Many market players were away ahead of market holidays from Tuesday to Friday next week while planned auction of 10-year JGBs and 30-year bonds in the following week kept traders cautious, traders said. The 10-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis point to minus 0.015 percent but still off nine-month high of plus 0.010 percent touched on Dec. 20.

After dropping to as low as minus 0.295 percent in early September on US-China trade tensions, the yield has steadily risen to end the year almost flat. The 20-year JGB yield fell 0.5 basis point to 0.290 percent while the benchmark 30-year yield dipped 0.5 basis point to 0.430 percent.

The short end of the market was firmer, with the two-year JGB yield falling 1 basis point to minus 0.130 percent. The five-year yield was flat at minus 0.120 percent. Short maturities drew mild support from firmness in US Treasuries on Thursday after solid auction of seven-year notes.