Japan Credit Spreads Veer Away From Global Tightening Trend

  • Investors seeking larger premiums on yen debt amid BOJ jitters
  • SMBC Nikko’s Harada says market is wary of duration risk
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Yen corporate bond spreads reached a new high this week, diverging further from global credit and reflecting pressure on the Bank of Japan to normalize its ultra-easy monetary policy.

The premium investors are seeking on yen company debt rose to 63.3 basis points on Feb. 1, the most since June 2020, a Bloomberg index shows. Japanese spreads have widened for the past five months, climbing ever-higher even after global corporate premiums started tightening in October.