Japan's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda, who will instruct the BOJ to intervene, when he judges it necessary, warned that he will take appropriate steps to respond to the excessive weakness of the Japanese Yen without excluding any measures.
Key quotes
“Have been closely watching FX moves with a high sense of urgency.”
“Will take appropriate steps to respond to the excessive weakness of Yen without excluding any measures.”
“Yen’s current weakness is due to speculation, not reflecting fundamentals.”
“Current yen weakness does not reflect fundamentals.”
“Yen weakness based on speculative moves has a negative effect on the economy.”
“Yen weakness from speculative moves is not good under any circumstances.”
“Says he doesn't have a specific forex level in mind when asked about 'defense line’.”
“Will make a comprehensive decision looking more at whether there are excessive moves rather than levels.”
“Sudden forex moves are not desirable.”
Market reaction
Following the above verbal intervention, USD/JPY was trading at 151.10, losing 0.24% on the day.
Japanese Yen FAQs
The Japanese Yen (JPY) is one of the world’s most traded currencies. Its value is broadly determined by the performance of the Japanese economy, but more specifically by the Bank of Japan’s policy, the differential between Japanese and US bond yields, or risk sentiment among traders, among other factors.
One of the Bank of Japan’s mandates is currency control, so its moves are key for the Yen. The BoJ has directly intervened in currency markets sometimes, generally to lower the value of the Yen, although it refrains from doing it often due to political concerns of its main trading partners. The current BoJ ultra-loose monetary policy, based on massive stimulus to the economy, has caused the Yen to depreciate against its main currency peers. This process has exacerbated more recently due to an increasing policy divergence between the Bank of Japan and other main central banks, which have opted to increase interest rates sharply to fight decades-high levels of inflation.
The BoJ’s stance of sticking to ultra-loose monetary policy has led to a widening policy divergence with other central banks, particularly with the US Federal Reserve. This supports a widening of the differential between the 10-year US and Japanese bonds, which favors the US Dollar against the Japanese Yen.
The Japanese Yen is often seen as a safe-haven investment. This means that in times of market stress, investors are more likely to put their money in the Japanese currency due to its supposed reliability and stability. Turbulent times are likely to strengthen the Yen’s value against other currencies seen as more risky to invest in.
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