Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso expressed concern Tuesday over the yen’s unabated strength in the currency markets and said Tokyo will take action if needed.
“I’m concerned that one-sided and drastic speculative moves have been picking up steam in the markets,” he said at a press conference, referring to the yen’s temporary surge to the mid-105 level against the U.S. dollar.
“We will watch (the moves) more closely and take decisive action when necessary so that speculative moves cannot continue,” said Aso, who is in Frankfurt to attend a series of international financial meetings.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, also present at the press conference, said the central bank will not hesitate to ease monetary policy further if the necessity arises, such as when economic indicators have been swayed by exchange rates.
The yen briefly rocketed to mid-105 against the dollar on Tuesday in London, rising to the highest level since October 2014 as market players continued to buy the yen after the BOJ kept its policy unchanged last week.
