Foreign investors unloaded net $9bn of Japanese bonds in July

JGB sell-off came on speculation of tweak to Bank of Japan's yield curve control

Overseas investors last month logged their highest net sales of Japanese government bonds since January. © Reuters

TAKAHISA TAMURA, Nikkei staff writer

August 22, 2023 01:22 JST

TOKYO -- International investors sold 1.35 trillion yen ($9.26 billion) more in Japanese government bonds than they bought last month, the first such sell-off in six months, anticipating a policy shift by Japan's central bank that would bring higher yields.

The selling by overseas investors represents a reversal from their net purchase of 1.51 trillion yen in JGBs for June, figures released Monday by the Japan Securities Dealers Association show. The numbers do not include bonds with short maturities.