TOKYO - Japan's top currency diplomat, Atsushi Mimura, on Thursday declined to comment on the yen's sharp rally against the U.S. dollar earlier in the day as speculation persisted that Japanese authorities could intervene in the currency market.
"I have no intention of commenting," Mimura, vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters, as the U.S. currency dropped close to the 161 yen line from the mid-162 yen range in afternoon Tokyo trading.
The dollar has strengthened against the yen, climbing to a fresh 39-year high on Wednesday, as speculation mounts that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this year to curb inflation amid a global rise in energy prices.
Asked whether the phrase "the final evacuation advisory," which he used on April 30 to warn against speculative moves, remains in effect, Mimura said, "I have nothing to say on such matters, including whether that remains the case."
"As I always say, I do not offer commentary on day-to-day market movements in my capacity as vice finance minister," Mimura, a senior bureaucrat who effectively makes the final decision on whether to carry out foreign exchange intervention, added.
