Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said he will tell a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bankers in Florida this weekend that Japan is ready to keep selling yen if needed.
"Foreign exchange rates should move in a stable manner by reflecting economic fundamentals and we are ready to take action if currencies show movements which are not in line with them," Tanigaki said at a press conference in Tokyo.
"I will say these things" at the G7 meeting, he added.
Tanigaki's comments came after the ministry announced today that Japan sold a total of ?5.88 trillion (US$55.6 billion) in the three months ended Dec. 31.
It sold as much as ?1.3 trillion on Dec. 10, the fourth biggest amount of yen sold in a single day, the ministry said.
HOLDING ACTION
Japan is trying to slow the yen's advance against the dollar by selling its own currency to protect an export-led recovery from the country's third recession since 1991.
Exports made up two-thirds of Japan's 1.4 percent annualized third-quarter economic growth.
The yen's 12 percent gain against the dollar over the past year threatens to cut the sales and earnings of exporters including Sharp Corp and Honda Motor Co.
The Bank of Japan at the behest of the finance ministry sold a record ?20.4 trillion last year. Japan's central bank also sold ?7.15 trillion from Dec. 27 through Jan. 28, a record amount for a single month.
Those yen sales drove up Japan's official foreign reserves to a record US$741.25 billion last month, up US$67.72 billion from December, the Finance Ministry said yesterday.
The figure is about the same as the size of Japan's general account budget of US$774 billion for the fiscal 2004 draft.
US Treasury Secretary John Snow and fellow finance chiefs from wealthy nations were to gather in luxury yesterday to mull how to boost global expansion while keeping a lid on tensions among themselves.
The first meeting this year of G7 finance ministers and central bankers -- which opens formally yesterday with a dinner and wraps up late today with a closing statement -- will play out against a backdrop of rising worries over the slumping value of the US dollar.
There is enough divergence among the G7 members -- the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan -- that no substantive deal on slowing the dollar's decline is likely.
Instead, US officials have said they want to talk about strategies to boost global growth, so the US would no longer be the sole source of consumer demand.
"The agenda for growth, which is a very important initiative launched in Dubai back in September, will be the focus of the policy discussions at the G7 meetings," Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor said this week.
Another topic they were to touch on at the plush 80-year-old resort was how to encourage development in emerging economies.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
RSS