Japan finance minister repeats readiness to act on forex

TOKYO, June 5 : Japan is ready to respond appropriately at any time on foreign exchange and reserves the right to take "decisive action" against excessive volatility, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Friday as the yen hovered around the key 160-per-dollar.

The remarks came as investors scrutinise for clues on whether Japan could intervene in the currency market again to prop up the sagging yen.

Data released on Friday showed Japan's foreign reserves, the bulk of which are believed to be held in U.S. Treasuries, fell at a record pace in a sign of the limits of deploying massive-scale intervention.

"On foreign exchange, we will respond appropriately at any time when necessary," Katayama told parliament.

While currency rates are affected by various factors, speculative activity made up a large portion of highly volatile moves since the beginning of the Middle East war in February, Katayama said.

"Japan and the U.S. are in close contact on market moves," she said, adding that Tokyo has the right to take decisive action against excessively volatile moves under a joint statement signed last year.

The Japanese yen fetched 160.015 per dollar, after hitting the critical 160-per-dollar mark on Wednesday for the first time since April 30. The 160 level is widely seen in markets as a line in the ‌sand ⁠for potential official intervention.

Speaking at the same parliament session, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the best way to maintain the yen's value is to boost Japan's global competitiveness through investment in growth sectors.

In the statement agreed in September, the U.S. and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to "market determined" exchange rates, while agreeing that foreign exchange interventions should be reserved for combating excess volatility.

The Ministry of Finance said Japan's foreign reserves fell by $77.1 billion, or 5.6 per cent, from a month earlier to $1.306 trillion, representing the largest-ever drop on record after Tokyo resumed massive interventions to stem the yen's slide in late April.

Foreign securities led the decline, shrinking by $75.6 billion to $931.7 billion.

"It appears that U.S. Treasuries were sold to fund market intervention. Tokyo has signalled a willingness to sell U.S. Treasuries to finance such operations," Tsuyoshi Ueno, a senior economist at NLI Research Institute, said.