The most recent flare up of the turbulence has however lead to significantly increased demand for short term government securities leading to lower interest rates for the German T-bills. Prior to the recent turbulence in September the search for safety drove down both the T-bill and the highest rated commercial paper yield.
Reflecting movements in long-term interest rates, however, it was raised by 0.6 percentage points to 3.1 per cent in May 1997. On the stock exchange, the Nikkei 225 stock average has been rising since the second half of April 1997, reflecting the fact that market uncertainties about the economic outlook and about Japanese financial institutions have gradually subsided, and the strong U.S. stock prices.