Japanese investors buy overseas bonds after selling U.S. assets due to tariff concerns

From Yahoo Finance: 2025-04-24 02:14:00

Japanese investors were net buyers of overseas bonds in the week through April 19, with a net purchase of 223.7 billion yen ($1.57 billion) worth of long-term foreign bonds, their first weekly net purchase since February. U.S. Treasury yields climbed this month, as bonds sold off due to concerns over tariffs and economic policies.

Japanese investors, the largest holders of U.S. Treasuries, have been selling dollar assets in response to trade tariff announcements and doubts about the safe-haven status of U.S. assets. Meanwhile, overseas investors have been purchasing Japanese assets, driven by safe-haven demand and expectations that the Bank of Japan will delay its interest rate hike.

Overseas investors pumped 11.95 trillion yen into Japanese bonds and 3.7 trillion yen into equity markets in the past three weeks, while a Reuters survey of economists suggests the Bank of Japan is likely to hold its key interest rate through June, with expectations for a 25-basis-point hike next quarter decreasing. Japanese investors also bought foreign equities worth about 610.4 billion yen in the week ended April 19.

Read more: Japanese investors turned net buyers of overseas bonds last week