The Bank of Japan offered to purchase a smaller amount of government bonds in a regular operation on Monday than it did on April 24 as it seeks to reduce its presence in the country’s debt market. The move is likely to support higher Japanese bond yields, potentially narrowing the wide yield gap between Japan and the US that has undermined the yen. The yields for the benchmark 10-year maturity rose immediately after the announcement from the BOJ while the yen trimmed earlier losses. The central bank said would buy ¥425 billion ($2.7 billion) of 5-to-10 year debt, compared with the ¥475.5 billion it bought in the ... (full story)