Finance minister says more intervention possible

Japan's Finance Minister Jun Azumi has suggested the possibility of further intervention into the currency markets to stop the yen from strengthening.

The Bank of Japan made a massive intervention in the Tokyo foreign exchange market on Monday, causing the dollar to strengthen nearly 4 yen at one point to the mid-79 yen range. However, later investors in New York and elsewhere began selling dollar to buy back the yen.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Azumi said he would not comment on the movement of the markets after the intervention. However, he said psychological warfare is underway and the Japanese government will closely monitor the markets and make appropriate decisions when necessary.

The Japanese finance minister said that the current yen exchange rate level does not represent the real economy. He said when the yen is used for speculative purposes it will hurt Japanese workers. Azumi said the latest intervention was done with the national interest in mind.

The finance minister said that he will seek understanding for the recent market intervention at the G20 summit meeting in France this week.

Tuesday, November 01, 2011 14:52 +0900 (JST)