Japan’s Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Masato Kanda, issued a strong warning as Dollar approaches 148 yen, marking a high for this year.
Kanda stated, “We are closely monitoring the situation, with a high sense of urgency. If such moves continue, the government will take appropriate measures, and all options are on the table.”
These remarks are the first significant warning since the Ten dropped below the 145-per-dollar mark in mid-August. Since then, Japanese authorities had been relatively silent.
With the declared “high sense of urgency”, Japan has effectively put currency traders on alert for potential intervention or other policy moves. The “all options are on the table” comment raises the possibility of multiple policy actions, ranging from more verbal warnings to more market interventions to curb yen’s fall.
