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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SeaViewer who wrote (4158)	12/30/2003 12:42:17 PM
From: russwinter	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

Getting expensive for Japanese taxpayers!! Japan Sold 2.25 Trillion Yen From Nov. 27 to Dec. 26 Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Japan sold its currency in December for a 10th month this year, according to the Ministry of Finance, trying to stem gains that threaten the nation's exports and may slow economic growth. The Bank of Japan sold 2.25 trillion yen ($21 billion) from Nov. 27 through Dec. 26. The figure boosts yen sales for 2003 to a record 20.1 trillion yen. The MOF in Tokyo, which released the figures on its Web site, directs the central bank to buy or sell its currency. Japan's central bank has been trying to slow an 11 percent gain in the yen in 2003, its best year since 1998, which erodes earnings on overseas sales. Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., which both manufacture machinery, are among the companies that said they have been hurt by the yen rally. ``The MOF appears to be ready to spend as much money as it wants to slow down the pace of the yen's gain,'' said Noriyoshi Tsunoda, assistant manager of the treasury department at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. in Taipei, a unit of Japan's biggest lender. ``Without the sales, the yen should have gained much more. The authorities may continue to sell to just moderate the gain.'' As of 7:51 p.m. in Tokyo, the yen was at 106.95 per dollar, versus 107.02 late yesterday in New York, according to EBS prices. December's sales were the biggest since 2.72 trillion yen in October. The record was 4.46 trillion yen for the period of Aug. 28 and Sept. 26. Bracing for More ``The amount was within what people had expected,'' said Shigehiro Kamimura, manager of the market trading department at Resona Bank Ltd. in Tokyo, a unit of Japan's fifth-largest lender. ``The authorities may come in again going into the new year.'' Japan's financial markets will be closed for the rest of the week, though Ministry of Finance officials have said they may act during holidays. Japan sold its currency on at least three days during the second week of December, said traders at financial institutions that deal with the nation's central bank and asked not to be identified. The central bank sold as much as 1 trillion yen on Dec. 10, according to the Nihon Keizai newspaper, citing ``market sources.'' The Bank of Japan sold 1.6 trillion yen from Oct. 30 to Nov. 26 as part of its effort to protect its export-led recovery. The world's second-largest economy will grow 1.8 percent in the 12 months starting April 1 as companies increase spending and exports rise, the government said on Dec. 19 in its annual economic forecast. The Ministry of Finance plans to temporarily sell as much as 10 trillion yen of its holdings of U.S. Treasuries to the Bank of Japan to boost the amount of money at its disposal to weaken the yen by buying foreign currencies, the ministry said on Friday. Last Updated: December 30, 2003 06:06 EST