By Andrea Shalal
TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday acknowledged the Japanese yen’s substantial depreciation in recent weeks, but said the U.S. view remained that currency intervention was warranted only in “rare and exceptional circumstances.”
Yellen, speaking after separate meetings with Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, said they had reviewed the yen’s recent depreciation, but did not discuss currency intervention or related policy.
She told reporters that the United States believed that countries such as Japan, the United States and other members of the Group of Seven rich nations should have market-determined exchange rates, and “only in rare and exceptional circumstances is intervention warranted.”
Yellen said she also reiterated Washington’s view that G7, G20 commitments involved “market-determined exchange rates and communicating closely about exchange rate developments.”
Yellen and Suzuki pledged in a joint statement to continue to consult closely on foreign exchange markets and “cooperate as appropriate” on currency issues, in line with their commitments as part of the Group of Seven (G7) and Group of 20 economies.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Editing by Louise Heavens)
