(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Japan's foreign exchange reserves totaled USD 1.277 trillion at the end of September, up USD 3.76 billion from a month earlier, marking the third straight monthly increase and remaining the world's second-largest, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
The growth was largely attributed to valuation gains in the government's holdings of euro-dominated assets due to the appreciation of the euro against the dollar, the ministry said.
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 Sept. 30, foreign currency reserves stood at USD 1.198 trillion, IMF reserves at USD 14.
81 billion, IMF special drawing rights at USD 19.91 billion and gold at USD 43.69 billion.
Japan's reserves are closely monitored for evidence of how 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 116 billion) in the final quarter of 2011, including the biggest ever single-day intervention at around JPY 7.5 trillion (USD 96 billion) 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 3.240 trillion at the end of June, according to the latest comparable data.
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