JGBs follow global yields lower as COVID-19 worries flare

TOKYO, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond yields fell on Tuesday, tracking a decline in global yields as the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus threatened the economic recovery.

At the close of trading, the yield on the 20-year JGB was 1 basis point lower at 0.380%, while 30-year yields fell 0.5 basis point to 0.630%.

Ten-year JGBs had not traded, with the yield last at 0.015%. Benchmark 10-year JGB futures rose 0.13 point to 152.44, with a trading volume of 22,004 lots.

An auction of 10-year debt was on the weak side, but didn't impact the broader market, a market player at a domestic securities firm said.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields stood at 1.1821% in Tokyo trading, little changed from Monday, when they lost nearly 5 basis points amid concerns that the pace of the U.S. recovery is slowing.

Japan is also grappling with its own fifth wave, with new COVID-19 cases surging to a record 12,340 on the last day of July, and staying elevated in August, with more than 8,000 infections on Monday.

"The global trend from declining long-term yields is still in place, but even so, I can't see any reason to buy 10-year JGBs with a negative yield," said Makoto Suzuki, senior bond strategist at Okasan Securities.

The two-year JGB was flat at minus 0.130%, while yields on five-year notes fell 0.5 basis point to minus 0.130%. (Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Rashmi Aich)