First official confirmation of BOJ intervention
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said the government’s intervention in the foreign exchange market was effective to some extent.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said the government’s intervention in the foreign exchange market a little more than a month ago was effective to some extent, marking the first time an official verbal intervention had taken place.
“We intervened in the market to counter excessive currency movements resulting from speculation,” Suzuki told reporters on Tuesday. “From that perspective, we believe it has a certain impact,” he said.
While there was no previous statement from the Japanese government about the intervention, market participants were aware that the ministry had entered the market twice since the end of April, based on transaction movements and Bank of Japan data. While it was predicted that the BOJ intervened to support the yen on April 29 and May 1, BOJ data also confirmed this situation.
Japanese officials tend to remain silent in the immediate aftermath of such moves, as part of their strategy to keep markets guessing. “The government will continue to closely monitor developments in the foreign exchange market and take all possible measures,” Suzuki said, repeating a standard warning about excessive currency volatility.