The Bank of Japan on Thursday offered to buy 1 trillion yen ($9.18 billion) of Japanese government bonds in an unscheduled operation, as global bond yields surge on fire-sales by desperate investors seeking to raise cash and reduce risk exposure.

Following the announcement, the 10-year JGB futures price erased earlier losses to trade at 151.84, up 0.09 point on the day and off their earlier low of 151.20.

The move comes as the coronavirus pandemic has spread panic in financial markets, raising the specter of a global credit crunch and dislocation of dollar funding.