Bessent Expects Yen to Settle at Appropriate Level

Washington, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that he expects the yen, which has been falling against the dollar amid Japanese political uncertainty, to settle at an appropriate level. “I think if the Bank of Japan follows proper monetary policy, then the yen will find its own level,” Bessent told reporters, suggesting that he expects the Japanese central bank to tighten its monetary policy. Still, the treasury secretary said that he is “not going to tell (BOJ) Governor (Kazuo) Ueda what to do” and that he will not “comment on specific levels” of foreign exchange rates. “When Japan enacts proper fiscal, proper monetary policy, then the yen will find a level,” he said. The International Monetary Fund said in its forecast for global economic growth, released Tuesday, that it expects the BOJ to moderately raise its policy interest rate to around 1.5 pct, a neutral level that neither stimulates nor restrains the economy over the medium term. Bessent also criticized Tokyo’s continued purchases of liquefied natural gas from Russia amid the war in Ukraine, saying, “We think any purchases of Russian energy should be substituted and that anyone who purchases Russian energy is subsidizing the attack on Ukrainian people.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]