Japan's Long-Term Yield Briefly Hits 2.945%, Highest in About 30 Years

Aug 18, 2026 | News On Japan

TOKYO - Japan's benchmark long-term interest rate briefly rose to 2.945% as government bonds were sold on August 18, reaching a fresh high not seen in about 30 years as uncertainty in the Middle East pushed up crude oil futures and fueled expectations that inflation could accelerate.

Selling spread through the bond market, lifting the yield on Japan's 10-year government bond, the main benchmark for long-term interest rates, to as high as 2.945%.

The yield surpassed the roughly 30-year high reached a day earlier.

Bond yields move inversely to prices, meaning yields rise when government bonds are sold and their prices fall.

Investors sold Japanese government bonds as uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East drove crude oil futures higher, strengthening expectations that rising energy costs could accelerate inflation.

Concerns about Japan's fiscal position also contributed to the selling.

Government ministries and agencies are preparing to submit their budget requests for the next fiscal year to the Finance Ministry, and expectations that the overall size of those requests could expand and further worsen the country's fiscal position prompted additional selling of government bonds.

Source: TBS

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