TOKYO, May 18 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond (JGB) yields rose on Wednesday, tracking overnight gains in U.S. Treasury yields, as solid U.S. retail sales in April raised hopes of stronger economic growth.
The 10-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis point to 0.245% and the 20-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis point to 0.770%.
Treasury yields rose also as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the U.S. central bank will "keep pushing" to tighten U.S. monetary policy until it is clear that inflation is declining.
The 30-year JGB yield rose 1 basis point to 1.025% and the 40-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis point to 1.145%.
An outcome of a government auction for five-year notes was also moderately firm, even as it received bids worth 3.40 times the securities sold, lower than a bid-cover ratio of 3.61 times at the previous auction.
"The auction was supported by demand from those who wanted to cover their short-selling," said a market participant at a domestic brokerage.
The five-year yield rose 0.5 basis point to 0.015%.
The two-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis point to -0.055%.
Benchmark 10-year JGB futures barely moved at 149.48, with a trading volume of 11,871 lots. (Reporting by Tokyo markets team; editing by Uttaresh.V)
