TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday that the authorities were “deeply concerned” about the impact of “rapid and one-sided” foreign exchange moves on the economy, as the yen declined to 38-year lows past 161 per dollar.
Speaking at a regular press conference, Suzuki said authorities would respond appropriately to excessive currency moves and that confidence in the Japanese currency is maintained.
“The government is closely monitoring developments in the foreign exchange market with a high sense of urgency,” Suzuki said, adding efforts to continue forging ahead with fiscal reform is crucial.
The yen fell to its weakest since 1986 at 161.155 per dollar on Friday morning, with neither an overnight drop in U.S. yields nor data showing solid consumer price gains in Tokyo arresting the downward slide in Japan’s currency.
Finance ministry officials have been ramping up warnings against the sliding yen this week, signalling readiness to intervene in the currency market.
Japanese authorities are facing renewed pressure to stem sharp declines in the yen as traders focus on the interest rate divergence between Japan and the United States.
Tokyo spent 9.8 trillion yen ($60.91 billion) intervening in the foreign exchange market at the end of April and early May, after the Japanese currency hit a then 34-year low of 160.245 per dollar on April 29.
($1 = 160.8900 yen)
(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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