Japan’s FX diplomat says Tokyo ready to respond to rapid FX move

JAPAN is always ready to take action against excessive market moves, Tokyo’s top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said on Monday (Jun 24), as the yen fell close to 160 to the US dollar, raising market caution for fresh intervention.

“We won’t comment on day-to-day currency moves as such comments could give the market unforeseen effects, but we are always to ready to take appropriate action when there are excessive moves,” Kanda told reporters.

The yen has been under pressure after the Bank of Japan’s decision this month to hold off on reducing bond-buying stimulus until its July meeting. The US dollar traded at 159.87 yen early Monday.

Kanda said that he was aware that the yen’s decline towards 160 to the US dollar prompts market caution about intervention, but noted that the authorities have set no specific levels in mind on when to intervene.

The market widely sees 160 yen to the US dollar as the authorities’ line in the sand. Japan spent some 9.8 trillion yen (S$83 billion) to pull the currency out of a 34-year trough of 160.245 per US dollar hit on Apr 29.

The steps, however, have failed to reverse the yen’s weakness due partly to wide Japan-US interest rate differentials.

Kanda also said the addition of Japan to the US Treasury’s foreign exchange monitoring list had “absolutely no impact” on Tokyo’s policy options.

A US Treasury report issued on Thursday added Japan to its foreign exchange monitoring list alongside six countries that were on the previous list.

“Japan has policy leeway to ensure that foreign exchange rates move in a stable manner reflecting fundamentals,” Kanda said.

Issues emerge with currency intervention when a country tries to weaken its currency to boost exports, but “what we are doing is exactly the opposite to that”, he added.

“We will firmly respond to moves that are too rapid or driven by speculators,” he said. “If no action is taken to such moves, people, companies and households would suffer.” REUTERS