Japan’s top FX diplomat escalates warnings against weaker yen

TOKYO :Japan’s top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura flagged on Thursday readiness to act against the weaker yen, in the government’s strongest warning against speculators in recent months as the yen plunged to fresh three-month lows.
Describing recent currency moves as “one-sided and drastic,” he told reporters that Japanese authorities were “closely watching developments on the currency market, including those driven by speculators, with utmost urgency.”
“We are ready to take appropriate actions against excess moves,” he said.
Mimura’s latest warning is the strongest since he replaced Masato Kanda at the end of July. Kanda launched the biggest yen-buying intervention on record this year and aggressively jawboned speculators against pushing down the Japanese currency too much.
Mimura stepped up verbal warnings last month, when the yen fell close to the psychologically key 150 per dollar level.
Japan last conducted a yen-buying intervention in late July to support its currency after it tumbled to a 38-year low below 161 per dollar.
The dollar soared against major currencies after Republican Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, with policies on immigration, tax and trade expected to spur higher U.S. growth and inflation.
The yen was up 0.22 per cent at 154.30 per dollar on Thursday morning, after touching 154.7 on Wednesday, its lowest against the greenback since July 30.