Govts Allowed to Intervene into Forex: Japanese Official

Stresa, Italy, May 24 (Jiji Press)–Governments are allowed to take appropriate steps, including intervention, to respond to speculative and excessive foreign exchange moves, Masato Kanda, Japanese vice finance minister for international affairs, said Friday.

“We’ll take appropriate measures as needed at any time,” Kanda told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors in Stresa, Italy.

Japanese authorities are believed to have intervened into foreign exchange markets twice between late April and early May to stem the yen’s rapid depreciation.

Kanda agreed with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said on Thursday that currency intervention should be used only rarely. “Needless to say, it is desirable that it happens rarely,” Kanda said.

Japan has continued and will continue to communicate closely with the United States on currency and financial market developments, he said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]