Bank of Japan not too worried about grind higher in JGB yields – only if there’s a spike

The Bank of Japan is not too worried about the moves higher in Japanese Government Bond yields, “which are grinding rather than abrupt” says an unnamed source quoted in this (gated) Reuters piece.

In summary from the article:

• BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda issued a mild warning on Friday that it could increase bond buying if “abnormal” market moves trigger a sharp rise in yields, but he was reiterating the bank’s pledge made when it began tapering bond purchases in July last year.
• Ueda said the BOJ was unwavering in its stance to allow market forces to determine long-term interest rates.
• BOJ has set an extremely high hurdle for conducting emergency bond buying operations – a tool it sets aside only for exceptional cases such as an abrupt, uninterrupted spike in bond yields, said two sources familiar with the bank’s thinking.
• “It’s natural for bond yields to creep up if market bets on the (BOJ’s) terminal rate is rising,” one of the sources said, a view echoed by another source.
  “I don’t think the BOJ is too worried about the moves, which are grinding rather than abrupt,” the second source said.

There is more at that link if you are interested.

USD/JPY update, just above its low from last week:

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.