Currency traders preparing for this week’s policy decisions from the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan got fresh reminders that Japanese officials stand ready to intervene if swings in the yen become excessive.
Japan’s top currency official Masato Kanda said Wednesday he’s keeping in extremely close contact with his counterparts in the US on a day-to-day basis, and both sides agree that excessive currency moves are unwelcome.
“We maintain extremely close communication with foreign authorities, especially the United States, on a regular basis,” Kanda said.
He made the comments after the yen weakened overnight to levels near the lowest since November, as the dollar touched 147.92 yen. Kanda said he wouldn’t rule out any steps to address unruly markets if deemed necessary, and he continues to monitor developments with an extreme sense of urgency. The yen strengthened a tad after Kanda’s remarks.
Kanda was speaking ahead of a decision later Wednesday by the Fed, where authorities are expected to hold rates steady. The yawning interest-rate gap between Japan and the US has been a key factor in yen weakness, making the higher-yielding dollar more appealing. The BOJ is also expected to stand pat when it ends a two-day policy meeting on Friday.
Read more: Yellen Says Yen Intervention Understandable If Due to Volatility
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said earlier that any intervention by Japan to prop up the yen would be understandable if it were aimed at smoothing out volatility — not at affecting the level of the exchange rate.
“It would depend very much on the details,” Yellen said when asked whether the Treasury Department would be understanding if Japan intervened to buy yen in the foreign-exchange market. “We usually communicate with them about these interventions.”
A year ago Japanese authorities conducted the first yen-buying operations since 1998 as the yen continued to slide, temporarily putting a floor under the currency before it hit a multi-decade low of 151.95 per dollar in October. Ultimately Japan needed to shell out more than $60 billion in three interventions last year before stabilizing the currency.
While a weak yen supports exporters, it also raises the cost of food and energy imports, hurting households and creating a headache for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
A surge by oil to a 10-month high on supply concerns raises the possibility that inflationary pressure could increase globally.
(Updates with more details)
