JGB yields inch down after BOJ chief offers few hints on rate hike

TOKYO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond yields inched down on Tuesday, as investors were relieved after the Bank of Japan chief did not provide a decisive hint on the timing of the next interest rate hike.

The 10-year JGB yield fell 0.5 basis point (bp) to 1.065%. The 20-year JGB yield fell 0.5 bp to 1.890%.

BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda on Monday offered few clues on whether the BOJ would raise rates in December. Ueda spoke at a news conference on Monday, saying the economy was progressing towards sustained wages-driven inflation and warned against keeping borrowing costs too low.

"Ueda's comments were rather dovish," said Katsutoshi Inadome, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.

"Some in the market had expected that Ueda would announce the rate hike in December on Monday."

Overnight Index Swap (OIS) on Tuesday indicated a 46.46% chance of the BOJ raising rates to 0.5% in December, down from more than a 50% chance last week.

A weaker yen drives expectations for the rate hike.

Investors expected the BOJ to provide clear hints before the policy shift as the central bank was blamed for the market turmoil in August after its surprise rate hike in July, Inadome said.

The 30-year JGB yield fell 1.5 basis points to 2.285%.

Yields on the shorter-end of the curve were flat, with the two-year JGB yield unchanged at 0.55%. The five-year yield was flat at 0.700%.

(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Eileen Soreng)