Japan ready to take action vs excessive yen volatility – finance chief

Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen with a currency exchange rate graph in this illustration picture taken June 16, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File photo

TOKYO — Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday that authorities were ready to take appropriate action against excessive currency market volatility, without ruling out any options.

“We are carefully watching daily market moves,” Suzuki told a news conference after a regular cabinet meeting, when asked about the yen’s continued declines.

“We are watching currency moves with a strong sense of urgency,” he said.

The yen has been on a downtrend despite the Bank of Japan’s decision on March 19 to end eight years of negative interest rates, and hit a 34-year low against the dollar at 151.975 last week. It stood at 151.655 in Asia on Tuesday.

READ: Yen hits 34-year low ahead of key US inflation test

With the BOJ’s policy rate still stuck around zero, expectations the gap between U.S. and Japanese interest rates will remain wide are giving traders an excuse to keep selling the yen, analysts said.

Suzuki said monetary policy was only among many factors that affect currency moves, such as each country’s current account balance, price developments, geo-political risks, market sentiment and speculative moves.

READ: Japan’s finance minister issues strongest warning on yen weakness

“It’s important for currency rates to move stably reflecting fundamentals. Excessive volatility is undesirable,” he said.

Suzuki declined to comment when asked whether Japan would intervene heavily in a single blow to unwind speculative positions, or conduct intervention in several stages to smooth volatile moves.