JGBs erase losses, futures off 1-month low

TOKYO Dec 29 (Reuters) - Lead March 10-year Japanese government bond futures edged higher on Tuesday, after briefly slipping to a one-month low following a fall in U.S. Treasuries the previous day.

* March 10-year JGB futures dipped to as low as 139.26 2JGBv1, the lowest since late November, but later trimmed their losses to stand at 139.42, up 0.04 point on the day.

* The benchmark 10-year JGB yield was steady at 1.300 percent JP10YTN=JBTC after rising to 1.305 percent in early trade.

* JGBs may be drawing support from investor bargain-hunting needs at levels near 1.3 percent on the 10-year yield, said Akito Fukunaga, a fixed-income strategist at Credit Suisse.

* U.S. Treasuries edged lower on Monday following a $44 billion auction of two-year notes, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hitting a five-month high in thin year-end trading. [US/]

* A focal point next week will be a 10-year JGB auction on Jan. 6.

* While the recent firmness of equities and falls in U.S. Treasuries are negative factors for JGBs, investors may find it easier to buy JGBs on dips with the government's announcement of the next fiscal year's debt issuance plans out of the way, said Fukunaga at Credit Suisse.

* The JGB market has taken in stride the government's announcement late last week that it plans to issue a record 144.3 trillion yen ($1.6 trillion) in JGBs to the market in the next fiscal year.

That marks a 4.9 percent increase from this year's record high but is slightly below the median market forecast of 145.3 trillion yen in a Reuters poll conducted in early December. [ID:nTKV006321] [ID:nT147988] (Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Chris Gallagher)