BOJ Watch: Market Believes Weaker Yen Trend Still Accepted
Tuesday, April 3, 2001
TOKYO (Nikkei)--The dollar surged against the yen in Tokyo on Monday after the Bank of Japan tankan business sentiment survey was worse than initial forecasts.
The tankan, which was released Monday, showed that the corporate sentiment index of major manufacturers fell to minus five, compared with expectations that saw it coming in around zero. The dollar briefly rose to a high of 126.65 yen.
Although Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa expressed concern that "(the yen's weakening) has been a little steep since last week," many market participants believe that monetary authorities are only saying that with the U.S. government in mind. In fact, many say that Japan's authorities have not changed their stance on accepting a weaker yen.
BOJ governor Masaru Hayami did little to counter such speculation as well. In response to reporters' questions about the weaker yen, Hayami merely said, "Just ask the market."
Miyako Suda, the newest BOJ policy board member as of April, held a news conference Monday and affirmed her personal stance against currency intervention by the central bank. "Conducting monetary policy with a currency rate as a target is a wrong course," Suda said. The market's reaction to her comments proved muted, however, with many participants asserting that Suda's views do not significantly differ from those of other BOJ executives.
(The Nikkei Financial Daily Tuesday edition) |
