Japan’s top currency official warned that the government would take action if needed in comments that follow a weakening of the yen to its lowest levels since last November.
(Bloomberg) — Japan’s top currency official warned that the government would take action if needed in comments that follow a weakening of the yen to its lowest levels since last November.
“It’s important that currency markets reflect fundamentals and move in a stable manner. Excessive moves aren’t desirable,” top currency official Masato Kanda told reporters after the first meeting of Japan’s Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Japan and Financial Services Agency since March. “The government will continue to closely monitor market moves, and will take appropriate responses if necessary.”
The unscheduled meeting came after the yen softened beyond 140 per dollar. Japan intervened in both September and October last year to prop up the currency, after a slump that at one point took it past the 150 level.
The meeting took place shortly after 5:30 pm local time, and no statements were released.
“On our verbal intervention scale, this is just a 2 out of 7, with 7 being warning of imminent intervention,” said David Forrester, Singapore-based strategist at Credit Agricole, ahead of the meeting. “So today’s meeting is likely to make sure mechanisms are still in place to intervene if needed.”
Markets are nowhere near the level of volatility used to justify intervention last year he added.
The Japanese currency rallied about 0.8% from its intraday low of 140.93 per dollar as news of the meeting broke. It traded as high as 139.79 per dollar in London following the meeting.
Yen Weakens Past 140 Per Dollar as Traders See Another Fed Hike
Representatives from the three key institutions last met on March 17 in response to jitters in the global banking sector following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.
Some analysts have said the yen is close to hitting a bottom against the dollar, with an improving trade account and higher tourism arrivals offering support, and is unlikely to weaken to levels requiring intervention. The Japanese currency has declined more than 6% this year.
“At this point, the government is unlikely to intervene, as stocks have maintained a strong bias amid the weaker yen,” said Tsutomu Soma, a bond and currency trader at Monex Inc. “Investors may become more nervous should the yen fall to around 145.”
–With assistance from Yumi Teso and Masaki Kondo.
(Updates with latest prices. An earlier version of the story was amended to correct name of official.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.