ID :
139362
Thu, 08/26/2010 - 10:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/139362
The shortlink copeid
Noda says Japan will take `appropriate` steps to counter yen`s surge
TOKYO, Aug. 25 Kyodo -
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Wednesday that Japan will take
''appropriate'' measures to counter the yen's recent sharp rise against the
U.S. dollar and other major currencies.
The comment, which came after Noda met with Prime Minister Naoto Kan, was
widely seen as suggesting that Japanese monetary authorities would intervene in
the foreign exchange market for the first time in over six years to stem the
yen's rise, which has added to the country's economic woes, if the currency
advances further.
Kan only said he ''won't comment on a currency intervention'' when he met the
press in the evening, while transport minister Seiji Maehara said the
government has a range of options it could take to address the situation,
including yen-selling intervention.
In a related move, the Bank of Japan is considering further easing its monetary
policy by increasing liquidity in the economy in a move that could weaken the
yen, sources close to the matter said.
The central bank has been under pressure from lawmakers to take additional
emergency steps to boost the economy. It could expand one of its lending
programs, which is currently designed to provide a total of 20 trillion yen in
three-month money to financial institutions at its policy interest rate of 0.1
percent, the sources said.
The BOJ is scheduled to hold its monthly policy meeting on Sept. 6 and 7. But
there is speculation that the meeting may be held earlier.
Kan instructed Noda to ''carefully watch'' developments in the currency market,
the finance minister told reporters after visiting the premier's office.
''I said (to Kan) that I will take appropriate responses when necessary,'' Noda
said. But he left it uncertain whether the government would step into the
market, saying he ''cannot comment on an intervention.''
The lunch meeting between Kan and Noda, also attended by Chief Cabinet
Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, attracted the attention of media and market
participants.
But Noda said the meeting mainly involved analyzing recent economic conditions,
acknowledging that they did not discuss specific policy measures to deal with
the yen's rise.
The dollar lost ground after Noda spoke to reporters as market participants
apparently could not find any specific clues of possible government responses
in the future to stop the yen's surge. But the U.S. currency mainly traded at
around 84.40 yen in Tokyo trading, above a 15-year low of 83.58 yen reached
overseas on Tuesday.
Tokyo stocks extended their losses with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index ending
the day at a 16-month low. A stronger yen adversely affects the earnings of
Japanese exporters, including high-tech and auto manufacturers.
Sengoku told a press conference earlier in the day that the intensified buying
of the yen by investors reflects ''weak real economies in Europe and the United
States.''
The government's top spokesman also said it should be checked whether the flow
of speculative money has been accelerating the recent sharp rise of the yen,
which he said has been regarded as a relatively safe asset since the global
financial crisis in 2008.
While there are media reports that Noda may hold talks by phone with U.S.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the Japanese minister told reporters in
the morning, ''I know there are such reports. But I refrain from making
comments.''
Maehara, land, infrastructure, transport and tourism minister, said, ''Monetary
easing and currency intervention are in our menu'' of policy options.
Maehara, who is among a young generation of leaders in Kan's Democratic Party
of Japan, also said in the recording of a TV program that the government and
the BOJ have so far failed to ''clarify the resolve to firmly respond to
excessive rises in the yen.''
Business leaders urged the government to address the yen's strength, warning
Japan's economic recovery could be stalled unless the government takes
appropriate measures.
''The yen has been rising at a fast pace that is beyond the expectations of the
business world,'' Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation,
or Nippon Keidanren, told reporters after meeting with Kan.
Yonekura, who heads the country's biggest business lobby, also said the
government should not abandon the option of currency intervention.
==Kyodo
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Wednesday that Japan will take
''appropriate'' measures to counter the yen's recent sharp rise against the
U.S. dollar and other major currencies.
The comment, which came after Noda met with Prime Minister Naoto Kan, was
widely seen as suggesting that Japanese monetary authorities would intervene in
the foreign exchange market for the first time in over six years to stem the
yen's rise, which has added to the country's economic woes, if the currency
advances further.
Kan only said he ''won't comment on a currency intervention'' when he met the
press in the evening, while transport minister Seiji Maehara said the
government has a range of options it could take to address the situation,
including yen-selling intervention.
In a related move, the Bank of Japan is considering further easing its monetary
policy by increasing liquidity in the economy in a move that could weaken the
yen, sources close to the matter said.
The central bank has been under pressure from lawmakers to take additional
emergency steps to boost the economy. It could expand one of its lending
programs, which is currently designed to provide a total of 20 trillion yen in
three-month money to financial institutions at its policy interest rate of 0.1
percent, the sources said.
The BOJ is scheduled to hold its monthly policy meeting on Sept. 6 and 7. But
there is speculation that the meeting may be held earlier.
Kan instructed Noda to ''carefully watch'' developments in the currency market,
the finance minister told reporters after visiting the premier's office.
''I said (to Kan) that I will take appropriate responses when necessary,'' Noda
said. But he left it uncertain whether the government would step into the
market, saying he ''cannot comment on an intervention.''
The lunch meeting between Kan and Noda, also attended by Chief Cabinet
Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, attracted the attention of media and market
participants.
But Noda said the meeting mainly involved analyzing recent economic conditions,
acknowledging that they did not discuss specific policy measures to deal with
the yen's rise.
The dollar lost ground after Noda spoke to reporters as market participants
apparently could not find any specific clues of possible government responses
in the future to stop the yen's surge. But the U.S. currency mainly traded at
around 84.40 yen in Tokyo trading, above a 15-year low of 83.58 yen reached
overseas on Tuesday.
Tokyo stocks extended their losses with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index ending
the day at a 16-month low. A stronger yen adversely affects the earnings of
Japanese exporters, including high-tech and auto manufacturers.
Sengoku told a press conference earlier in the day that the intensified buying
of the yen by investors reflects ''weak real economies in Europe and the United
States.''
The government's top spokesman also said it should be checked whether the flow
of speculative money has been accelerating the recent sharp rise of the yen,
which he said has been regarded as a relatively safe asset since the global
financial crisis in 2008.
While there are media reports that Noda may hold talks by phone with U.S.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the Japanese minister told reporters in
the morning, ''I know there are such reports. But I refrain from making
comments.''
Maehara, land, infrastructure, transport and tourism minister, said, ''Monetary
easing and currency intervention are in our menu'' of policy options.
Maehara, who is among a young generation of leaders in Kan's Democratic Party
of Japan, also said in the recording of a TV program that the government and
the BOJ have so far failed to ''clarify the resolve to firmly respond to
excessive rises in the yen.''
Business leaders urged the government to address the yen's strength, warning
Japan's economic recovery could be stalled unless the government takes
appropriate measures.
''The yen has been rising at a fast pace that is beyond the expectations of the
business world,'' Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation,
or Nippon Keidanren, told reporters after meeting with Kan.
Yonekura, who heads the country's biggest business lobby, also said the
government should not abandon the option of currency intervention.
==Kyodo
