Japanese residents’ net disposals of foreign long-term debt securities fell to ¥92.6 billion in the week ended Oct. 24, the smallest weekly sale in a six-week run, Japan’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) said.
The amount was down from a revised ¥160.5 billion in the week ended Oct. 17. Over the six weekly periods beginning Sept. 13, residents recorded a combined ¥3.5249 trillion in net disposals of foreign long-term debt.
Residents also made net purchases of ¥235.3 billion in foreign short-term debt securities, reversing revised net disposals of ¥136.9 billion a week earlier. They made net purchases of ¥288.1 billion in foreign equities and investment fund shares. Nonresidents made net purchases of ¥1.1809 trillion in Japanese equities and investment fund shares, after net disposals of ¥67.5 billion the previous week. They also made net purchases of ¥43.3 billion in Japanese long-term debt and net disposals of ¥1.1817 trillion in Japanese short-term debt.
The MOF bases its weekly figures on reports from designated major investors, including banks, financial instruments firms, insurers, investment trust management companies and asset management companies. It classifies securities by the issuer’s residence, so the foreign long-term debt measure covers securities beyond U.S. Treasury holdings. Positive figures represent net acquisitions and negative figures net disposals.
Reuters described the preceding five-week run as the longest in four years. The latest release extends the streak; EconoTimes covered the fifth week of net disposals in an earlier report.
AFP attributed the slower pace of selling to a recent decline in U.S. Treasury yields. The U.S. Treasury’s daily par-yield series showed the 10-year rate at 5.13% on Oct. 21 and 5.00% on Oct. 23. The MOF release reports the flows but does not identify their cause.
Reuters also reported that investors were watching whether higher Japanese government bond yields could make domestic debt more attractive and encourage capital to return to Japan. The weekly flows do not show why investors made the trades or whether proceeds from foreign bond sales went into Japanese securities.
The next weekly release, covering Oct. 25-31, is scheduled for 6:50 p.m. ET Nov. 5 (8:50 a.m. JST Nov. 6). The ministry says the schedule may change.
