By Makiko Yamazaki
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato issued a fresh warning against speculative yen selling on Tuesday, as the Japanese currency approached the key 160 per dollar level that prompted yen-buying interventions half a year ago.
“As I have said previously, … we’ve been seeing one-sided, sharp moves in foreign exchange development,” Kato said, repeating the government’s view on the recent currency market situation at a regular press conference.
“The Japanese government has been alarmed by foreign exchange developments, including those driven by speculators, and will take appropriate action against excessive moves,” Kato said.
The dollar reached 158.33 yen on Tuesday, the firmest since July 17, drawing support from higher U.S. Treasury yields.
Japan last intervened in July to support its currency when it tumbled to a 38-year low below 161 per dollar.
The yen has been on the defensive amid growing expectations that U.S.-Japan interest rate differentials may not narrow soon, with uncertainty about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs likely to maintain pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep rates higher for longer.
The greenback bounced back overnight after Trump denied a Washington Post report that his incoming administration would likely pursue a less-aggressive tariff policy than he previously threatened.
“If further Federal Reserve rate cuts are limited in scale and the U.S.-Japan interest rate differential does not contract substantially, we see limited scope for the yen to strengthen against the greenback,” Yasunari Ueno, Mizuho Securities’ chief market economist, said in a report on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jacqueline Wong)
