Japan's foreign reserves fall

Japan's foreign reserves fall

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's foreign exchange reserves declined US$7.59 billion in December to $220.8 billion, falling for the first time since July 1997, the finance ministry said yesterday.

The decline in the month was due to market intervention by Japanese monetary authorities to halt the yen's drop against the dollar, the ministry said.

In July last year, Japan's foreign exchange reserves fell $58 million.

The reserves consist of convertible foreign currencies, gold and International Monetary Fund (IMF) special drawing rights.

Japan remained the world's largest holder of foreign exchange reserves for the 50th consecutive month, the ministry said.

According to the latest available data from other countries, China ranked second at $136.6 billion, followed by Taiwan with $86.4 billion.