original title:
Japanese Prime Minister: If the yen fluctuates too much, the government will intervene again
When Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the New York Stock Exchange on the 22nd, he said that the Japanese government will closely monitor market fluctuations with a “high sense of vigilance” and that once the yen has “excessive flow” due to speculative activities, the government will intervene again if necessary. .
“Once there is too much volatility, we will take necessary measures decisively,” he said.
Kishida is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Hours before Kishida’s remarks, that is, late at night on the 22nd Tokyo time, the Japanese government bought large sums of yen to boost the exchange rate. This is the first time the Japanese government has intervened in the foreign exchange market in this way since 1998.
According to Reuters, it is not common for the Japanese prime minister to publicly speak out on exchange rate movements, and Kishida’s remarks show that the Japanese government is determined to curb the rapid decline of the yen, so as not to increase the pressure on Japanese households and retailers due to rising prices of imported raw materials and fuel.
After the government’s move, the yen appreciated slightly, and the exchange rate of the dollar against the yen fell by more than 2% to about 1 to 140.3. However, as of 23:16 GMT on the 22nd (7:16 Beijing time on the 23rd), the exchange rate returned to the level of 142.36 yen per US dollar.
The Bank of Japan had previously decided to maintain an accommodative monetary policy to stimulate the economy, fearing that the yen will continue to depreciate.
September 23 is the Autumn Equinox, a public holiday in Japan. Japan’s Deputy Minister of International Affairs of the Ministry of Finance Kanda Makoto said on the 22nd that although the next day is off, if the government decides to intervene again, it will not be constrained by this factor.