Bonds

BOJ Acts to Slow Rising Bond Yields With Unscheduled Buying

  • Yields on long, super-long debt have surged to decade highs
  • Central bank is trying to manage yields without weakening yen

The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

Photographer: Kentaro Takahashi/Bloomberg
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The Bank of Japan announced an unscheduled bond-purchase operation Friday in a reminder to the market of its determination to manage the upward momentum in sovereign yields.

The buying clipped half a basis point off the benchmark 10-year yield, which earlier set a fresh decade high. Japan’s 30-year yields reached a peak last seen in 2013 and the 20-year maturity touched the highest since 2014 on Thursday amid a selloff that’s hitting bonds around the world.