TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s new Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said she wouldn’t endorse her past remarks that Japan’s economic fundamentals suggested the yen’s real value is closer to 120-130 per dollar.
The yen was most recently trading at 154.20 per dollar.
“In my current position, I obviously can’t endorse my past remarks,” Katayama told broadcaster TV Tokyo in a pre-recorded interview.
“It’s always been always the case that markets’ movements are often unrelated to real demand,” she said. “What the Japanese government can do is to steer the fundamentals onto a sound and reasonable growth path, while also maintaining Japan’s credibility.”
She said the Bank of Japan’s decision to keep interest rates steady on Thursday was extremely reasonable, and took into account overall current economic conditions.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
Comments