MNI BRIEF: BOJ's Kuroda: Recent Rapid FX Moves Undesirable

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday that the recent rapid movements of foreign exchange rates are undesirable and the impact on the economy and prices in being monitored.

“Japan’s economy is in a process of recovering from Covid-19 and the rise in high commodity prices is putting downward pressure on the economy. The BOJ will maintain the current powerful easy policy to achieve the 2% price target in a stable manner,” Kuroda said.

However, he didn’t elaborate on how the BOJ would cope with the recent rapid movements, adding it was premature to discuss an exit strategy from easy policy. The yen traded at a high of 129.36 against the dollar on Friday, below earlier levels above JPY 131 this month, See: MNI INTERVIEW: Yen May Be Nearing End Of Depreciation-Hayakawa.

Separately, Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday that the government will take appropriate action in foreign exchange markets, and is in touch with U.S. authorities. “Forex rates should be determined by markets. A rapid movement of foreign exchange is undesirable and unordinary forex moves have adverse impact on economy and prices,” Suzuki told lawmakers.