Japan’s 10-year yields hit 1-1/2 month low tracking Treasuries

TOKYO, May 25 (Reuters) – Japan’s 10-year government bond yields fell to their lowest level in one and a half months on Wednesday, tracking an overnight decline in Treasuries as weak U.S. housing data deepened fears of an economic slowdown.

The 10-year JGB yield JP10YTN=JBTC fell 2.5 basis points to 0.205%, its lowest since April 5.

The five-year yield JP5YTN=JBTC fell 1 basis point to minus 0.010%, dipping into negative territory for the first time since April 28 and hitting its lowest since March 8.

The 20-year JGB yield JP20YTN=JBTC fell 2 basis points to 0.700%.

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes tumbled to a two-year low in April, likely as higher mortgage rates and record prices squeezed first-time buyers and those in search of entry-level properties out of the housing market. nL2N2XG1FL

The 40-year JGB yield JP40YTN=JBTC fell 1.5 basis points to 1.075%, ahead of an auction for the notes with the same maturity in the next session.

The 30-year JGB yield JP30YTN=JBTC fell 1 basis point to 0.955%.

The two-year JGBs did not trade and the yield JP2YTN=JBTC remained at -0.070%.

Benchmark 10-year JGB futures 2JGBv1 rose 0.25 point to 150.11, with a trading volume of 24,061 lots.

(Reporting by the Tokyo markets team; Editing by Aditya Soni)

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