The amount outstanding of funds in the call money market has remained generally stable since the middle of June. As for interest rates on term instruments, short-term rates maturing before the year-end have remained at a historically low level. Meanwhile, rates maturing beyond the year-end are rising due to market participants’ concern over the Year 2000 problem.
The Japan premium has continued to be nearly zero for short-term transactions, but there remains a small premium for transactions maturing beyond the year-end. Yields on long-term government bonds rose to around 1.9 per cent in late October. They declined somewhat thereafter and are presently moving between 1.7 and 1.8 per cent again.