MNI BRIEF: Japan's Household Financial Assets Hit Record High

The balance of financial assets held by Japanese households stood at a record high of JPY2,023 trillion at the end of December, climbing 0.4% y/y and marking the 11th straight quarterly rise, preliminary fund circulation data released by the Bank of Japan on Friday showed.

The balance of cash and deposits held by Japanese households at the end of December stood at a record high of JPY1,116 trillion, up 2.1% from a year earlier. The high balance of cash and deposits are alleviating the impact of soaring consumer prices caused by the rise in resource prices and the weak yen, and also supporting consumer spending. The balance of cash and deposits accounted for 55.2% of the total financial assets.

Government bonds and Treasury bills held by the BOJ stood at JPY555 trillion at the end of December, up 4.7% y/y and the third straight rise. The BOJ's holdings accounted for 46.3% of total government debt, the single largest share, and is up from 44.9% at the end of September. Government bonds held by the BOJ accounted for 52.0% at the end of December, up from 50.3% at the end of September.

The balance of government bonds and Treasury bills held by non-Japanese totaled JPY166 trillion at the end of December, down 5.7% y/y and for the first drop since end-March 2014, and accounting for 13.9% of total government bonds, down from 14.1% at the end of September.