JGBs subdued, markets turn focus to looming Fed, BOJ meetings

TOKYO, Oct 29 (IFR) - Japanese government bond prices were largely unchanged in subdued trading on Tuesday morning, as traders kept to the sidelines ahead of the outcomes of meetings by U.S. and Japanese central banks this week.

The Federal Reserve begins its two-day meeting on Tuesday while the Bank of Japan will hold a one-day policy board meeting on Thursday to review its semi-annual economic outlook report.

Both central banks are widely expected to keep policy on hold, with markets watching out for any hint from the Fed on the timeline for tapering its massive $85 billion-a-month bond-buying stimulus.

A batch of positive Japanese economic data released earlier in the day had little impact on the JGB market. Retail sales rose 3.1 percent from a year earlier in September, above economists' forecast of 1.9 percent.

The jobless ratio declined to 4.0 percent in September from 4.1 percent in August.

At midday, yield on the current 5-year JGBs was unchanged at 0.205 percent. The 10-year yield was also flat at 0.610 percent.

In the super-long zone, the 20-year yield rose 0.5 basis point to 1.485 percent.

Lead December JGB futures moved in a narrow range before finishing midday up 0.04 point at 144.87.