the prices of most Japanese government bonds fell in early trading due to the prospect of further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan. Japanese economic data released this morning showed that household spending in December increased by 2.7% year-on-year in real terms, exceeding general expectations. These data may increase the rationale for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates again. Naoki Tamura, a hawkish member of the Bank of Japan's policy committee, called for a possible acceleration in the pace of interest rate hikes on Thursday. The two-year Japanese government bond yield, which is sensitive to monetary policy expectations, rose 2 basis points to 0.80%, the highest intraday level since October 2008. (Jinshi)