Japan’s govt officials: Plan to trim inflation-linked bond issuance on softer price outlook

Citing two Japanese government officials with direct knowledge of the matter on Tuesday, Reuters reports that Tokyo is considering reducing the amount of inflation-linked government bonds it sells to the market next month to the lowest level in seven years.

This comes as deflationary fears mount amid the oil-price crash and economic contraction due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Key points

"The Ministry of Finance (MOF) originally planned to issue 300 billion-yen ($2.8 billion) worth of inflation-linked bonds in a quarterly auction scheduled for May 8.

Given prospects of weaker price growth, the MOF is expected to trim the amount to 200 billion yen, which would be the lowest amount of issuance since 2013.

The ministry will make an official decision by the end of this month."

Related articles

• Japan PM Abe: The economy is in a situation I have not experienced before
• JPY Futures: Scope for extra gains