The rebound has ended – Japanese investors’ risk appetite has been fading throughout the month
Japanese Monex Group has just reported trading volumes for the month of February. With figures dropping by 17% over last month to ¥139 billion ($1.36 billion) we can conclude the volumes recovery theme for now. As the imminent sales tax-hike in Japan in April is putting into question the first pillar for a sustained recovery in the Japanese economy – monetary policy, risk appetite of local investors is shifting to the lower band.
With last month’s figures almost matching the extraordinary amounts from January 2013, this month’s picture is rather different – figures are lower by more than 20% The most interesting part is to follow – as the effects of current monetary policy in Japan are fading, the central bank might still be tempted to increase Japanese bond purchases to counterbalance inflation expectations.
Market volatility could be ample in the month of March as geopolitical tensions have increased drastically, so we will keep an eye on that to get a glimpse on future volume figures. Stay tuned to LeapRate as volume reports keep pouring in.
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