TOKYO – Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said that last week’s meeting with his US and South Korean counterparts has laid the groundwork for Tokyo to act against excessive yen moves, issuing the strongest warning to date on the chance of intervention.
“I voiced strong concern on how a weak yen pushes up import costs. Our view was shared not just in a meeting with my South Korean counterpart, but also at the trilateral meeting that included the United States,” Mr Suzuki told Parliament on April 23.
“I won’t deny that these developments have laid the groundwork for Japan to take appropriate action (in the currency market), though I won’t say what that action could be,” he said.
The fresh warning came after the US dollar rose to 154.85 yen, its strongest level against the Japanese currency since 1990, keeping markets on heightened alert for any signs of intervention from Tokyo to prop up the yen.
The US, Japan and South Korea agreed to “consult closely” on foreign exchange markets in their first trilateral finance dialogue last week, acknowledging concerns from Tokyo and Seoul over their currencies’ recent sharp declines.
The rare warning from the three countries’ finance chiefs, which was inserted in a joint statement after their meeting, was seen by some analysts as Washington’s informal consent for Tokyo and Seoul to intervene in the market when necessary.
“Yen moves could turn volatile during Japan’s Golden Week holidays next week, so the authorities may be escalating their warnings to keep traders on guard over the chance of intervention,” said Mr Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
“Regardless of whether there will be one, markets are certainly more alert on the chance of intervention.”
At a regular post-Cabinet meeting news conference earlier on April 23, Mr Suzuki stressed that the Japanese authorities will work closely with their overseas counterparts to deal with excessive volatility in the foreign exchange market.
“We are watching market moves with a high sense of urgency,” he told reporters, adding that the Japanese authorities are ready to take action “without ruling out any options” against excessive currency moves.
The latest decline in the yen comes after a string of strong US economic data, particularly on inflation, which pushed the dollar to five-month highs and reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to be in a rush to cut interest rates in 2024.
While a weak yen boosts exports, it has become a headache for Japanese policymakers as it inflates the cost of living for households by pushing up import prices.
This dynamic has focused market attention on how the yen’s weakness will affect the timing of the next rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ), after BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda last week signalled the central bank’s readiness to tighten policy if the weak yen’s boost to inflation becomes hard to ignore.
Speaking at a Parliament session on April 23, Mr Ueda said the BOJ will raise interest rates if trend inflation accelerates towards its 2 per cent target.
The BOJ will conclude a two-day policy meeting on April 26. While markets are betting that it will keep short-term rates unchanged, the central bank is expected to project inflation staying at around its 2 per cent target for the next three years, sources have told Reuters.
Japan last intervened in the currency market in 2022, first in September and again in October, to prop up the yen. REUTERS
