Bessent Says Excess Forex Volatility Undesirable

Washington, May 19 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a social media post Tuesday that excess volatility in foreign exchange rates is “undesirable.” In the post on X, formerly Twitter, Bessent said that he held talks with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda in Paris the same day on the sidelines of a two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations. Bessent’s comment on foreign exchange rates came at a time when the yen remains weak against the dollar. The Japanese government and the BOJ conducted a yen-buying, dollar-selling currency market intervention in late April after the Japanese currency fell past 160 against the greenback. The Japanese authorities are believed to have stepped in the market again this month to prop up the yen. But the Japanese currency has been trading on a weak note vis-a-vis the dollar. Bessent said in the X post, “I believe the fundamentals of the Japanese economy are strong, adding, “I am confident that Governor Ueda will successfully guide Japan’s monetary policy.” The Treasury chief said he and Ueda discussed “Japan’s resilient economy and market outlook.” Bessent visited Japan earlier this month and met with Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama. At the time, he suggested that the U.S. Treasury Department is ready to continue coordination with Japan’s Finance Ministry to deal with excess volatility in foreign exchange rates. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]