MNI POLICY: BOJ Keeps Long-Term JGB Buying At Y480 Bln

     TOKYO (MNI) - The Bank of Japan left the scale of its purchases of

long-term Japanese government bonds unchanged at Y480 billion Friday, despite

speculation it might reduce the scale amid the recent drop in 10-year bond

yields.

     The BOJ offered to buy Y480 billion of JGBs with a remaining life of 5 to

10 years, unchanged from the previous similar operation on June 14.

     The BOJ didn't lower the scale of its purchase of long-term JGBs, seeing

the recent drop in bond yields as consistent with overseas bond movements and

not too rapid.

     The benchmark 10-year JGB traded at -0.170% after briefly rising to -0.165%

in early Friday trade. The 10-year JGB yield fell to -0.185% on Thursday, the

lowest level since August 2016,helped by good demand from overseas investors.

--MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-2175-0040; email: hiroshi.inoue@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: MMJBJ$,M$A$$$,M$J$$$,M$$FI$,MN$FI$]