Taro Aso’s Remarks Help Strengthen the Japanese Yen

Japanese yen is heading higher today, thanks in large part to comments made by Japan’s finance minister. The idea that the yen has depreciated too far has many ready to buy on the hopes that the government won’t be stepping in to weaken the yen in the near future.

Japanese finance minister Taro Aso said that the yen’s rapid depreciation in recent months was more than the government expected. The yen dropped dramatically on indications that the Japanese government was ready to intervene to keep the yen weak. Additionally, easing efforts meant to stimulate the economy have kept the yen lower. Finally, the election of Shinzo Abe, a man known for his aggressive stance on easing and stimulus, as Prime Minister helped keep the yen weak.

Now, though, with this new indication that the government seems to think that the yen has lost enough value recently, there are hopes that there won’t be any more immediate efforts to keep the yen weaker. As a result, the yen is seeing some gains against its major counterparts today.

At 15:33 GMT USD/JPY is down to 92.6300 from the open at 93.6150. EUR/JPY is also lower, dropping to 123.9550 from the open at 125.4465. GBP/JPY is down to 146.5045 from the open at 147.1450.

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