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Japanese investors sell most German bonds since 2014 in April
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
In April, Japanese investors sold 1.5 trillion yen of German bonds, marking the largest sell-off since 2014, influenced by changes in Germany's borrowing costs.
LONDON (Reuters) -Japanese investors launched their largest monthly sell-off of German bonds in over a decade in April, data showed on Monday, a month after Germany's borrowing costs shot up in reaction to a debt-rule overhaul to ramp up spending.
Japanese investors sold nearly 1.5 trillion yen ($10.4 billion) of German bonds after accounting for purchases, according to data released by Japan's finance ministry, which Commerzbank said was the most since 2014.
Germany's decision to create a 500 billion euro ($546 billion) infrastructure fund and ease strict borrowing rules to boost defence spending sent its bond yields surging in March.
Japan's investors also sold nearly 1.1 trillion yen in long-term U.S. Treasuries, the data showed, the most since October, according to Commerzbank.
U.S. Treasury yields were whipsawed in April following U.S. President Donald Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariff announcements. They surged over 70 basis points (bps) in one week in April, raising questions about the safe haven status of the world's biggest government bond market.
German bond yields, meanwhile, dropped sharply that month as the market stood out as a safe-haven for investors amid U.S. Treasury volatility.
Japanese investors are the biggest foreign holder of U.S. Treasuries and a major holder of euro zone government bonds, so shifts in their investments are tracked closely by markets.
($1 = 144.1300 yen)
(Reporting by Yoruk Bahceli; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Toby Chopra)
Japanese investors sold nearly 1.5 trillion yen ($10.4 billion) of German bonds in April, marking the largest monthly sell-off in over a decade.
Germany's decision to create a 500 billion euro infrastructure fund and ease strict borrowing rules to boost defense spending led to a surge in bond yields in March.
In addition to German bonds, Japanese investors sold nearly 1.1 trillion yen in long-term U.S. Treasuries, the most significant sell-off since October.
German bond yields dropped sharply in April as the market became a safe haven for investors amid volatility in U.S. Treasury yields.
Japanese investors are the biggest foreign holders of U.S. Treasuries and also hold a significant amount of euro zone government bonds, making their investment shifts closely monitored by markets.
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