Financial assets held by households in Japan stood at ¥2.18 quadrillion as of the end of September, falling from a record high marked three months before in their first decline in eight quarters, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday.
The fall reflected a decline in stock prices following the central bank's decision in July to raise interest rates, as well as a weaker yen.
Compared with a year earlier, however, the balance of household financial assets was up 2.8%.
The balance marked a record high for the sixth straight quarter as of the end of June, following the introduction of the new NISA tax-exempt program for small-lot investors in January and thanks to higher stock prices.
Of the total as of the end of September, shareholdings gained 7.2% from a year before to ¥285 trillion, and investment trusts soared 23.3% to ¥125 trillion.
The balance of cash and deposits grew 0.3% to ¥1.12 quadrillion. Of them, cash shrank 3.1% to ¥102 trillion, its biggest-ever decline, due to the spread of cashless payment services and a drawdown of savings to cover price increases.
The share of Japanese government bonds held by the BOJ stood at 52.64%, down for the fourth consecutive quarter.
The BOJ's JGB holdings are expected to further shrink as the central bank has been reducing its JGB purchases since August as part of efforts to normalize its monetary policy.
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