TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki on Tuesday declined to comment on recent remarks by an IMF official on currency intervention and said there was no need to elaborate on what factors would determine currencies.
The yen’s recent declines are driven by fundamentals and do not meet any of the considerations that would call for authorities to intervene in the currency market, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said last week.
“I’m aware the comment was made by one official of the IMF. Various people make remarks so there’s no need for me to comment on every single remark,” Suzuki told reporters.
Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs at Japan’s Ministry of Finance, on Monday said various factors determine currency rates and long-term interest rates are “only one factor”.
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Christopher Cushing)
