The majority of Japanese government bond (JGB) rates decreased on Wednesday, with the longer end of the curve being supported by a solid result from the previous session’s bond auction for 20-year bonds.

The yield on the 10-year JGB declined by 1 basis point (bps) to 0.72%, while the yield on the 20-year JGB fell by 2 bps to 1.465%.

According to Kazuya Fujiwara, a fixed income strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, “Overall, investors awaited minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting so the market did not have a clear direction.”

“But the 20-year bond auction prompted investors to buy the bonds.”

Later in the day, the Fed’s January meeting minutes are expected, and traders are waiting for more hints about the policy outlook as hopes for an early rate decrease by the US Federal Reserve fade in the aftermath of sticky inflation statistics.

Moreover, the 30-year JGB yield dropped by 2 basis points to 1.725%, while the 40-year JGB yield dropped by 2.5 basis points to 1.925%.

The two-year JGB yield increased by 0.5 basis points to 0.15%, while the five-year JGB yield remained unchanged at 0.355%. The shorter end of the curve yields defied the trend.