TOKYO: Japanese authorities stand ready to take all possible measures in the currency market as excessively volatile moves are undesirable, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi says.

“It is important for currency rates to move stably, reflecting fundamentals. Excessive volatility is undesirable,” Hayashi told a regular news conference.

“We will closely watch exchange rate developments and stand ready to take all possible measures,” he said.

Hayashi declined to comment when asked whether Tokyo intervened in the currency market to prop up the yen for two straight days last week.

Traders suspect Tokyo intervened in the market to lift a currency that has languished at 38-year lows, once last Thursday after a cooler-than-expected US inflation report triggered a jump in the yen, and again last Friday.

The Bank of Japan data suggested Japan may have spent up to 3.57 trillion yen (US$22.51bil) intervening last Thursday.

Markets will be eyeing the release of money market data to gauge if Tokyo stepped in last Friday as well.

The US dollar stood at 158.62 yen yesterday, not far off from the 160 mark seen as the Japanese authorities’ line-in-the-sand for currency intervention.

Japanese authorities have recently made it standard practice to not confirm whether they have intervened in the currency market or not.

 - Reuters