Japan is offloading billions of dollars in US Treasuries as it fights to prop up its currency.
New numbers from the US Treasury Department show Japan sold $22 billion in Treasury securities in May, reducing its holdings to $1.1283 trillion.
The move marks the second month in a row that Japan has reduced its massive US Treasury holdings, with an initial sale of $37.5 billion in April.
The sell-off is happening amid Japan’s efforts to curb the dramatic fall of the yen against the US dollar.
In the past month alone, Japan has spent $36.6 billion to battle speculators betting against the yen, reports Bloomberg.
“The July intervention followed similar actions in April and May, underscoring the government’s commitment to keeping speculators on the back foot.
The latest action appears to have helped reverse the tide on the yen’s weakness, helped in part by heightened speculation that the gaping rate differential between Japan and the US will begin to narrow.”
Japan is not expected to offer more insight on its currency intervention efforts until November.
However, data on foreign reserves will be released next week that may shed light on whether the government is using its Treasury sales to directly pay for its purchases of the yen.
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