ID :
202166
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 15:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/202166
The shortlink copeid
Yen's rise 'speculative,' warns Japan's top currency diplomat
TOKYO, Aug. 18 Kyodo -
Takehiko Nakao, Japan's top financial diplomat, blamed speculators Thursday for the recent sharp rise of the yen, as the Finance Ministry and Bank of Japan held talks and agreed that the currency's strength is having a negative impact on the economy.
''Recent moves in the foreign exchange market have been violent. The strengthening of the yen has speculative factors,'' Nakao, vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters, indicating the Japanese authorities have not ruled out intervening in the market to curb the yen's rise, which erodes the competitiveness of exporters in the country.
''We remain alert,'' he also said, apparently referring to the yen's hovering within a whisker of the record high it marked against the U.S. dollar in March. The comments by Nakao, who took office earlier this month, came after he met with BOJ Assistant Governor Hiroshi Nakaso at the central bank.
The BOJ said it has exchanged opinions with the ministry ''considering developments in the market.''
The monetary authorities stepped into the market on Aug. 4 to sell the yen for the dollar, with Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda pledging his intention to battle against speculators.
The intervention, Japan's third such move in a year, briefly pushed the dollar to the 80 yen level. But the U.S. currency has since lost ground again, and on Thursday traded in the upper 76 yen during Tokyo trading hours.
In their talks, the ministry and BOJ agreed that the stronger yen has added to woes for the Japanese economy at a time when it is struggling in the wake of the March earthquake and tsunami, said Nakao, who added they will ''closely watch'' the market.
He also said the Group of Seven industrialized economies will discuss the currency market, in addition to global economic conditions, when finance ministers and central bank governors from the group gather early next month in Marseille, France.
The G-7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
Takehiko Nakao, Japan's top financial diplomat, blamed speculators Thursday for the recent sharp rise of the yen, as the Finance Ministry and Bank of Japan held talks and agreed that the currency's strength is having a negative impact on the economy.
''Recent moves in the foreign exchange market have been violent. The strengthening of the yen has speculative factors,'' Nakao, vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters, indicating the Japanese authorities have not ruled out intervening in the market to curb the yen's rise, which erodes the competitiveness of exporters in the country.
''We remain alert,'' he also said, apparently referring to the yen's hovering within a whisker of the record high it marked against the U.S. dollar in March. The comments by Nakao, who took office earlier this month, came after he met with BOJ Assistant Governor Hiroshi Nakaso at the central bank.
The BOJ said it has exchanged opinions with the ministry ''considering developments in the market.''
The monetary authorities stepped into the market on Aug. 4 to sell the yen for the dollar, with Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda pledging his intention to battle against speculators.
The intervention, Japan's third such move in a year, briefly pushed the dollar to the 80 yen level. But the U.S. currency has since lost ground again, and on Thursday traded in the upper 76 yen during Tokyo trading hours.
In their talks, the ministry and BOJ agreed that the stronger yen has added to woes for the Japanese economy at a time when it is struggling in the wake of the March earthquake and tsunami, said Nakao, who added they will ''closely watch'' the market.
He also said the Group of Seven industrialized economies will discuss the currency market, in addition to global economic conditions, when finance ministers and central bank governors from the group gather early next month in Marseille, France.
The G-7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
