JGBs flat post slightly lower-than-expected April core consumer inflation

The Japanese government bonds traded flat on the last trading day of the week after reading the country’s slightly lower-than-expected core consumer price inflation for the month of April.

The benchmark 10-year bond yield, which moves inversely to its price, hovered around 0.04 percent, while the long-term 30-year bond yields also traded flat at 0.79 percent and the yield on the short-term 2-year note too traded steady at -0.16 percent by 06:20 GMT.

Japan's core consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in April from a year earlier, lower than market expectations of 0.4 percent, marking the fourth straight month of increases and offering policymakers some hope a steady economic recovery will help shift consumers' sticky deflationary mindsets.

Excluding away the effect of fresh food and energy, consumer prices were unchanged in April from a year ago. Core consumer prices in Tokyo, available a month before the nationwide data, rose 0.1 percent in May from a year earlier, versus a 0.0 percent annual rise seen by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.64 percent lower at 19,686.84, while at 06:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Yen Strength Index remained highly bullish at 145.00 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex