Japan 20-year JGB yield at 6-1/2-month high after auction

Japanese government bond (JGB) yields ticked higher across the curve on Thursday as investors took in a string of positive domestic economic data, a weak yen and a lukewarm response to an auction of 20-year bonds. Traders pointed to the low 2.8 bid-to-cover ratio for this bond, compared with the strong 3.5 ratio at last week's 30-year auction as the reason for the rise in yields. "The buyers for the 30-year bonds were mainly life insurers, which had been steadily buying 30-year bonds (before the auction," said Kaoru Shoji, Japan rates strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities.