- Reaction score
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TOKYO -- The lack of intervention in Japan's currency market after the yen weakened beyond 152 to the dollar for the first time since 1990 has traders wondering when the government will step in and assessing the seriousness of Tokyo's jawboning.
The yen barely budged Thursday after Masato Kanda, Japan's top currency diplomat, called the decline "rapid" and said Tokyo would "respond appropriately to excessive moves, without ruling out any options."
Despite a notably tougher tone from officials since late March as the yen hovered above the 152 mark, "there's no sense that they're going to intervene anytime soon," said Yujiro Goto, chief foreign exchange strategist at Nomura Securities.
After the currency broke through what had been widely seen as a defensive line and then slid into the 153 range, discussion has centered on why Japan did not step in at that point and under what conditions it might do so.
Kanda and other officials long have talked about taking strong action against speculative moves in the Japanese currency. Some market watchers suggest they opted not to intervene after the latest fall because it was unlikely to have been driven chiefly by speculators.
asia.nikkei.com
The yen barely budged Thursday after Masato Kanda, Japan's top currency diplomat, called the decline "rapid" and said Tokyo would "respond appropriately to excessive moves, without ruling out any options."
Despite a notably tougher tone from officials since late March as the yen hovered above the 152 mark, "there's no sense that they're going to intervene anytime soon," said Yujiro Goto, chief foreign exchange strategist at Nomura Securities.
After the currency broke through what had been widely seen as a defensive line and then slid into the 153 range, discussion has centered on why Japan did not step in at that point and under what conditions it might do so.
Kanda and other officials long have talked about taking strong action against speculative moves in the Japanese currency. Some market watchers suggest they opted not to intervene after the latest fall because it was unlikely to have been driven chiefly by speculators.
Japan lets yen slide past 153 without intervention, leaving traders guessing
Depreciation beyond key level seen linked more to fundamentals than speculation
asia.nikkei.com
