JGBs dip as Nikkei gains, Greece debt talks awaited

TOKYO, June 22 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond prices dipped Monday in response to a rise in Tokyo's Nikkei, but caution ahead of talks between cash-strapped Greece and its creditors later in the day limited market activity.

Athens hopes to clinch a deal and unlock aid before it faces a month-end debt repayment deadline, with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras making a new offer on Sunday to foreign creditors.

Still, uncertainty clouded the horizon ahead of Monday's emergency meetings, which includes a summit of euro zone leaders, as months of negotiations have so far borne little fruit.

The benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose 1 basis point to 0.425 percent and September 10-year futures shed 0.05 point to 147.14.

Data released on Monday by the Japan Securities Dealers Association showed that trust banks became net buyers of JGBs in May for the first time in eight months to the tune of 334 billion yen ($2.72 billion).

While immediate market reaction was limited, dealers took it as a sign that government bond selling by the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) was beginning to peter out. GPIF, the world's largest public pension fund, entrusts trust banks with a portion of its assets for investment.

GPIF has steadily sold government debt this year in a bid to rebalance its bond-centric portfolio in favour of riskier assets.

($1 = 122.7300 yen) (Reporting by Kim Coghill)

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