Japan’s Financial Minister Is Ready to Intervene

The Japanese yen retreated from its 15-year maximum level against the US dollar and from the all-time high against the euro after the Japanese Finance Minister said that the appropriate action is needed in the Forex market.

Yoshihiko Noda, the current Finance Minister of Japan, said today that the current levels of Japanese yen describe a one-sided movement in the foreign exchange market that’s dominating it since at least May:

We have to take appropriate action when necessary, though I plan to continue to watch currency movements very closely with great interest.

Committed to look closer at the yen’s appreciation, Noda will probably have to use one of the few remaining tools — currency intervention — to push the yen down a bit. According to some sources, the Bank of Japan is currently planning a monetary easing that would increase the supply of yen and cool down its growth significantly.

USD/JPY rose from 84.13 to 84.72 as of 17:54 GMT today, setting its long-term minimum at 83.59 yesterday. EUR/JPY also rose today — from 106.27 to 107.17, following 5 days of decline.

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