Japan''s forex reserves up 1st time in three months 

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Japan's foreign exchange reserves totaled USD 1.290 trillion at the end of April, up 0.07 percent from a month earlier, marking the first monthly rise in three months and remaining the world's second-largest, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.

The increase was chiefly attributed to valuation gains in the government's holdings of the US Treasuries, the ministry said. Other factors included a rise in gold prices.

Japan's foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in foreign currencies plus the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserve positions, IMF special drawing rights and gold. As of April 30, foreign currency reserves stood at USD 1.21 trillion, IMF reserves at USD 17.
51 billion and gold at USD 40.60 billion.

Japan's foreign reserves are closely monitored for evidence of how Japanese authorities are managing vast foreign currency holdings, as the actions have significant impact on currency exchange rates and global bond markets, particularly in the US government bond market.

The authorities did not intervene in currency markets to stem the yen's rise after spending JPY 9.09 trillion (USD 114 billion) between October 28 and November 28, including the biggest ever single-day intervention on Oct. 31, when the Japanese currency hit a postwar high of JPY 75.32 against dollar.

Japan is the only country with foreign reserves of more than USD 1 trillion besides China, whose holdings hit a record of USD 3.305 trillion at the end of March, according to the latest comparable data.