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.
“We are ready to take appropriate actions against excess moves,” Mimura told reporters.
Describing recent currency moves as “one-sided and drastic,” he said Japanese authorities were “closely watching developments on the currency market, including those driven by speculators, with utmost urgency.”
Mimura’s latest warning is the strongest since he replaced Masato Kanda in late July. Kanda launched the biggest yen-buying intervention on record this year and aggressively jawboned speculators against pushing down the Japanese currency too much.
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.
