Japan top currency diplomat says ready to act vs speculative FX moves

FILE PHOTO: Japan's Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Masato Kanda speaks during a press conference after attending the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, February 29, 2024. REUTERS/Carla Carniel/File Photo

By Takaya Yamaguchi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese authorities are ready to take action against speculative and excessively volatile moves in the currency market that hurt the economy, the country's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said on Friday.

"It's not intended to change the market's trend," and instead aimed at smoothing excessive volatility in the currency market, Kanda told reporters, when asked about exchange-rate intervention.

"As long as currency rates move stably in line with fundamentals, there's no need to intervene. By contrast, if there are speculative, excessive volatility in the market, we will take resolute action," he said.

Kanda said he did not see a problem with Japan being added to the U.S. currency monitoring list, adding that it was assessed according to mechanical criteria.

The U.S. Treasury on Thursday said no major trading partner appeared to manipulate its currency last year, but it added Japan to a foreign exchange monitoring list alongside China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Germany, which were on the previous list.

(Reporting by Takaya Yamazaki, writing by Rocky Swift and Leika Kihara; Editing by Sandra Maler and Stephen Coates)