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Authorities are watching the currency market closely and stand
ready to respond, Suzuki said, repeating a warning against
speculative moves as the yen hovered near a one-year low versus
the dollar, just shy of the 150 mark.
"Currency levels won't be a factor for judgment" on whether to
intervene, Suzuki said. "It's volatility that matters."
The foreign exchange market showed little reaction to Suzuki's
comments, although traders have been on watch for action by the
Japanese authorities with the yen near levels that prompted
intervention a year ago.
Speaking at a regularly scheduled press conference, Suzuki also
said the authorities were watching market moves with a high
sense of urgency.
"It was important for currencies to move stably, reflecting
economic fundamentals," Suzuki told reporters. "We will be fully
prepared to respond with a high sense of urgency."
A weak yen boosts prices by raising the cost of imports, Suzuki
said, adding that other factors also affect cost-driven
inflation, including the war in Ukraine and cuts in output by
oil-producing nations.
As for newly issued 10-year government bonds that carry a yield
of 0.8%, a decade-high level, Suzuki said long-term interest
rates are set by the market, reflecting various factors.
Suzuki said that, generally speaking, rises in long-term rates
push up borrowing costs, and authorities are therefore closely
watching the impact of moves in long-term rates and how they may
affect households and businesses.
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Kantaro Komiya; Editing by
Chang-Ran Kim and Edmund Klamann)
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