TOKYO, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond yields rose on Thursday, tracking U.S. Treasury yields higher on expectations that the Omicron coronavirus variant would not derail the economic recovery.
The 10-year JGB yield rose 1.5 basis points to 0.070% as of 0455 GMT, its highest level this month, on the final trading day before a four-day New Year holiday.
Benchmark 10-year JGB futures fell 0.25 point to 151.6, with a trading volume of 16,520 lots.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note reached 1.56% for the first time since Nov. 29, as investors shunned safe-haven assets on signs that Omicron, although very fast-spreading, leads to milder symptoms than other variants such as delta.
"Rates of serious illness are low for the Omicron variant, so for now the market doesn't seem so concerned," said Shinsuke Kajita, chief strategist at Resona Holdings Inc in Tokyo.
The 20-year JGB yield rose 1 basis point to 0.475%, while the 30-year yield added 1 basis point to 0.690%.
The two-year and five-year yields each gained 0.5 basis point to minus 0.095% and minus 0.080%, respectively. (Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
