Japan foreign reserve assets fall by record 6% after interventions

TOKYO - Japan's foreign reserve assets in August fell $79.58 billion, or 6.18 percent, from the previous month to $1.21 trillion, marking the largest percentage decline on record, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

The drop was mainly due to a decline in the market value of government bonds held in the reserves amid rising interest rates, as well as a reduction resulting from foreign exchange interventions conducted between July 30 and Aug. 26, a ministry official said.