TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s foreign reserves rose to $1.070 trillion at
the end of August from $1.064 trillion at end-July but were below the
record high of $1.074 trillion marked at end-November 2009, the Ministry
of Finance said on Tuesday.
The country’s forex reserves remain the second largest in the
world, next to China’s which are estimated at $2.45 trillion at the end
of June.
Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits
denominated in foreign currencies, International Monetary Fund reserves,
IMF special drawing rights (SDRs) and gold.
At the end of last month, Japan’s foreign currency reserves stood
at $1.015 trillion, IMF reserves at $4.17 billion, SDRs at $20.20
billion, gold at $30.66 billion and other reserve assets at $435
million.
Japan’s forex reserves are closely watched for evidence of how the
country is managing its vast foreign currency holdings.
The biggest changes in Japan’s forex reserves usually occur when
the Bank of Japan intervenes in the currency market on behalf of the MOF
to prevent a steep appreciation or depreciation of the yen.
Japan has not intervened since mid-March 2004, when it ended its
massive 15-month-long yen-selling operation.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$]
