Prices of most Japanese government bonds fell in early trading on the prospect of further interest rate rises by the Bank of Japan. Household spending rose 2.7 per cent in real terms in December from a year earlier, beating consensus expectations, according to economic data released this morning. The data could add to the case for another rate rise by the Bank of Japan. Naoki Tamura, a hawkish member of the Bank of Japan's policy committee, on Thursday called for a possible acceleration in the pace of interest rate hikes. Yields on two-year Japanese government bonds, sensitive to monetary policy expectations, rose 2 basis points to 0.80 per cent, their highest intraday level since October 2008. (Jin Ten)