Japan bond yields retreat ahead of 30-year bond auction

TOKYO, Sept. 3 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond (JGB) yields retreated on Thursday after rising for successive sessions, as investors reassessed inflation risks and the prospect of a U.S. interest rate hike, while awaiting a 30-year bond auction due later in the day.

Here are a few details:

• The benchmark 10-year JGB yield JP10YTN=JBTC dropped 4.5 basis points (bps) to 2.965% and the 30-year yield sank 7 bps to 4.095%. Yields move inversely to bond prices.
• The 2-year yield JP2YTN=JBTC, the most sensitive to Bank of Japan policy rates, decreased 0.5 bp to 1.85%. The 20-year JGB yield JP20YTN=JBTC slid 7 bps to 3.815%. The 5-year yield fell 2 bps to 2.290%.
• U.S. Treasury yields slipped from multi-year highs on Wednesday, with the benchmark 10-year yield on pace to snap a five-session streak of gains.
• The ADP National Employment Report showed U.S. private payrolls increased less than expected in August.
• Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams tempered expectations of a rate hike this month, saying he was still gathering information before his next monetary policy decision and that rising long-term bond yields reflected a solid economy rather than inflation fears.
• JGB yields had risen in recent sessions alongside global peers, reflecting investor concerns over inflation and government debt levels.
• Japan's finance ministry is set to auction about 600 billion yen ($3.78 billion) of 30-year bonds later in the day.
• "High yield levels are likely to spur a degree of bargain-hunting demand" at the auction, said Keisuke Tsuruta, senior bond strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.