BOJ Holds Record 53.34% Of Japan Bonds By End-March

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) held 53.34% of outstanding Japanese government bonds at the end of March, a record high, after it stepped up buying to keep borrowing costs extremely low, data showed, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: Japanese government bond yields faced upward pressure in tandem with those of its overseas counterparts amid a global trend of monetary tightening to curb inflation.

The BOJ's bond holdings, excluding those with short-term maturities, came to 576.06 trillion yen ($4 trillion), while total government debt issued was at 1,079.96 trillion yen, according to the central bank.

The BOJ has held more than half of the government's debt for the third straight quarter, Mainichi Japan also reported.

Under its yield curve control program, the BOJ sets short-term interest rates at minus 0.1% and guides 10-year Japanese government bond yields to around 0%. A 0.5% cap is placed on the benchmark yield.

Japanese government bond yields faced upward pressure in tandem with those of its overseas counterparts amid a global trend of monetary tightening to curb inflation, prompting the BOJ to ramp up bond purchases to keep the yields within a designated range.

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