Japan's foreign reserves post largest monthly drop in May

Japan's foreign reserve assets in May fell 5.6 percent from the previous month, marking the largest monthly decline on record, the Finance Ministry said Friday.

Data released by the ministry showed that official reserve assets stood at 1.31 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of May, down 77.11 billion dollars from the end of April, falling by the largest margins in both percentage and volume terms since comparable data became available in April 2000.

Earlier ministry data on currency market interventions covering the period from April 28 to May 27 showed that Japanese authorities spent a record 11.73 trillion yen (about 73 billion U.S. dollars) to stem the yen's slide.

The ministry did not disclose details of transactions related to currency interventions, but it is likely to have sold some foreign assets to secure U.S. dollars for the yen-buying operations, Kyodo News said.

Currency movements were volatile on April 30, when the yen surged to the 155 zone from the upper 160 range. The yen then weakened, but on May 1, 4, and 6, it gained rapidly from the 157 zone to the 155 range, fueling views that the authorities again stepped in.

Japan's foreign reserves post largest monthly drop in May

The People's Bank of China launched on Friday a 500-billion-yuan (about 73.8-billion-U.S.-dollar) outright reverse repo operation through a fixed-quantity, interest rate bidding and multi-price winning bid method, in efforts to maintain ample liquidity in the country's banking system.

The winning bids of the operation are determined at various price levels. It will have a term of three months, or 92 days, with a maturity date set for Sept. 5, according to the central bank.

Outright reverse repo operations -- a tool the central bank introduced in October 2024 to manage liquidity in the national banking system -- are conducted each month with a term of no more than one year.

These operations have enriched the country's monetary policy toolkit, complementing previous measures such as temporary repos, temporary reverse repos, and the purchase and sale of treasury bonds.

China's central bank conducts 500-bln-yuan outright reverse repo operation