MNI POLICY: BOJ Lowers Range of Long-Term JGB Buying in Sep

--BOJ Keeps Frequency of All JGB Buying in September

     TOKYO (MNI) - The Bank of Japan said Friday it has lowered the range of its

purchases of long-term Japanese government bonds following the recent drop in

bond yields.

     The range of long-term bond buying operation per operation was reduced to a

range of Y250 billion to Y550 billion from the previous range of Y300 billion to

Y650 billion.

     The BOJ left the frequency of its JGB purchases unchanged in September from

August. But the bank said that it may increase the frequency as needed. It also

said that the bank "will conduct purchases in a flexible manner, taking account

of market conditions, aiming to achieve the target level of a long-term interest

rate specified by the guideline for market operations."

     The BOJ's schedule sees it refrain from conducting JGB buying operations on

days when the Ministry of Finance holds auctions for JGBs or the BOJ board holds

policy meetings.

     --CALENDAR

     The planned JGB purchase operations in September:

     The zones (amounts to be purchased in ranges)

     --1 to 3 years (Y250-Y500 bln in Sept. vs. Y250-Y500 bln in Aug.)

     --3 to 5 years (Y250-Y500 bln in Sept. vs. Y250-Y500 bln in Aug.)

     --5 to 10 years (Y250-Y550 bln in Sept. vs. Y300-Y650 bln in Aug.)

     --10 to 25 years (Y100-Y250 bln in Sept. vs. Y100-Y250 bln in Aug.)

     --More than 25 years (Y10-Y100 bln in Sept. vs. Y10-Y100 bln in Aug.)

     The frequencies of operations in each zone in Sept. plans vs Aug. actual.

     --1 to 3 years: 4 times (4 times)

     --3 to 5 years: 4 times (4 times)

     --5 to 10 years: 4 times (4 times)

     --10 to 25 years: 3 times (3 times)

     --More than 25 years: 3 times (3 times)

     The dates of operations

     Sept. 2: 10 to 25 years, more than 25 years.

     Sept. 6: 1 to 3 years, 3 to 5 years, 5 to 10 years.

     Sept. 12: 5 to 10 years, 10 to 25 years, more than 25 years.

     Sept. 17: 1 to 3 years, 3 to 5 years.

     Sept. 20: 5 to 10 years, 10 to 25 years, more than 25 years.

     Sept. 24: 1 to 3 years, 3 to 5 years.

     Sept. 26: 5 to 10 years.

     Sept. 30: 1 to 3 years, 3 to 5 years.

--MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-2175-0040; email: hiroshi.inoue@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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