JAPAN MINISTRY ASKS TRUST BANKS TO CUT DLR SALES
The Finance Ministry has asked trust banks
to moderate their dollar selling, trust banking sources said.
    A Ministry official told Reuters earlier this week the
Ministry had recently surveyed foreign exchange transactions by
institutional investors, but he declined to say whether this
was aimed at moderating the dollar sales.
    Dealers said institutional investors were reluctant to sell
dollars aggressively today partly because of the Ministry
monitoring.
    One senior trust bank source said that while sympathizing
with the Ministry position, the trust banks had to conduct
their foreign exchange operations according to the dictates of
the market.
    A Bank of Japan official said the central bank approved of
the survey as long it was not used too forcefully.
    But another official denied local press reports that the
central bank itself had asked investors to moderate their
dollar sales. "We are not legally authorized to do that," he
said.
    A Bank of Japan official also said the central bank will
renew its call on financial institutions to moderate excessive
loans for the purpose of land and securities investment as such
investments threaten to cause inflation.
    Bank of Japan Governor Satoshi Sumita had previously
expressed concern about excessive investment in land and
securities resulting partly from eased credit conditions.
 REUTER
