Tokyo to cut JGB issuance for sixth straight year

TOKYO, Jan 08 (Reuters): Japan plans to trim its annual government bond issuance by 3.6 per cent during the financial year beginning April 1, sources with direct knowledge of the plans said, as part of government efforts to curb public borrowing.

Japan's finance ministry is planning to issue 129.4 trillion yen ($1.14 trillion) in Japanese government bonds (JGBs) in the next fiscal year, down from 134.2 trillion yen in the initial budget for the current year, two people told Reuters on condition of anonymity because the plan has not yet been announced.

That will mean the sixth consecutive year of reductions. The finance ministry was not available for comment outside office hours.

Another cut would mark an ongoing decline in JGB issuance from a record high 156.6 trillion yen in the 2013 fiscal year.

It would also further reduce the need for the Bank of Japan to buy bonds from the market, a pillar of the central bank's super-loose monetary policy.