Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Thursday that Japan will not rule out any solutions to cope with excessive currency volatility, reinforcing a caution against speculative swings on the yen, which is wallowing near 11-month lows against the dollar.
When asked if the government planned to conduct rate checks, which is normally a precursor to action, Suzuki declined to reply.
The yen has fallen to approximately 150 per dollar, a level regarded by financial markets as a tipping point that might prompt Japanese authorities to intervene, as they did last year.
Analysts are skeptical that intervention will change the course of the yen’s depreciation given the United States’ and Japan’s divergence in monetary policy, with the Federal Reserve maintaining high interest rates while the Bank of Japan pursues monetary easing.
Suzuki issued a similar warning earlier this week, which markets saw as Tokyo’s dissatisfaction with the yen’s ongoing decline.
“Excess instability is undesirable,” the minister of finance told reporters at his ministry.
“If there is excessive volatility, we will not rule out any options and will respond appropriately.” To that aim, we are closely monitoring actions with a sense of urgency.”
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