Aug 5 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond yields slid further on Friday, tracking U.S. Treasury counterparts as recession fears rose and traders awaited the release of key U.S. employment data later in the day.
The 10-year JGB yield fell half a basis point to 0.165%, returning to a near five-month low reached on Tuesday. The yield has steadily declined since July after reaching a six-year high in June.
The five-year yield also fell half a basis point and was deeper into negative territory at minus 0.035%, the lowest level since Jan. 24, 2022.
Yields on Treasury notes fell overnight as the Bank of England (BOE) announced its largest rate hike in 27 years and warned of a recession, stoking worries that other central banks will need to take further hawkish actions.
"The prospect of major rate hikes can lead to fears of an economic slowdown and become a factor for lower yields in the long term," said Katsutoshi Inadome, senior fixed income strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
The next indicator traders are awaiting is U.S. employment data for July, which will be released later in the day. Expectations are for unemployment to remain flat at 3.6%, with 250,000 jobs added compared to 372,000 in June.
The 20-year JGB yield fell 1.5 basis points to 0.810%, and the 30-year yield also fell 1.5 basis points to 1.165%.
The two-year note and 40-year note went untraded.
Benchmark 10-year JGB futures rose 0.08 point to 150.7. (Reporting by Sam Byford and Tokyo markets team; editing by Uttaresh.V)
