Japan is wary of speculative yen moves against the US dollar and is ready to act again in the market if needed, and last week’s intervention has had “a certain effect,” it said Monday.

At a press conference, Shunichi Suzuki said the government was “strongly concerned” about the unilateral rapid movement of the yen, adding that it was monitoring the market with a high degree of vigilance.

Currency monitors in Tokyo on Sept. 22, 2022 show the dollar dipping below ¥143 in the first reaction to the dollar’s first yen-buying intervention since 1998. 145 range against the dollar. (Kyodo) == Kyodo

Japan bought the yen and sold the dollar for the first time since 1998 on Thursday, just after the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-low interest rate policy and Governor Haruhiko Kuroda ruled out any rate hikes in the next few years.

“We have taken appropriate measures against excessive volatility by speculators,” Suzuki said. There is no change in our stance of taking (further) measures as necessary.”

After crossing the psychologically important 145-yen line, the dollar fell back to the 140-yen level after the intervention. He rallied and was trading around ¥144 on Monday.

Market analysts believe that yen-buying by the Japanese authorities will lead to a broader appreciation of the dollar at a time when the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy is set to deviate further from global monetary policy, which has already begun rate hikes in an attempt to restrain it. I doubt the impact of reversing the trend. persistent inflation.

Suzuki said currency fluctuations are determined by “various factors” and that widening interest rate differentials are not the only reason for the yen’s depreciation. But the government and the Bank of Japan share concerns about recent volatility, he added.

“Governor Kuroda’s remarks today expressed strong concern over a sharp depreciation of the yen. We share the view with the BOJ,” Suzuki said.

The Bank of Japan is responsible for the government’s foreign exchange market interventions.

The United States showed its understanding of Japan’s intervention to buy the yen and sell the dollar, but a senior Ministry of Finance official denied the involvement of the United States. The European Central Bank also did not participate.

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