By David Lawder and Leika Kihara
ASHEVILLE, North Carolina, Aug 30 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday recent yen moves were “pretty well contained,” suggesting the Japanese currency’s renewed slides were not seen as the kind of disorderly moves that led to a rare joint Japan-U.S. intervention last month.
The yen slid below the 160-per-dollar level on Friday, a threshold widely seen as increasing the likelihood of intervention, drawing market attention to whether the United States and Japan can step in to prop up the yen again.
In an interview with Reuters, Bessent also said he expects Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda to “do the right thing” on monetary policy with the backing of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, when asked whether the central bank should consider consecutive interest rate hikes to combat yen declines.
“I’m not going to tell them what to do,” Bessent said, when asked whether the BOJ should hike rates more aggressively. “I’m going to say that I do think that we probably reached the end of Abenomics, which was a reflationary program.”
Launched in 2013 under the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Abenomics was an economic policy aimed at breaking Japan out of prolonged deflation with a mix of massive monetary stimulus, big fiscal spending and steps to boost Japan’s growth potential.
Bessent said he plans to meet Ueda on the sidelines of the Group of 20 finance leaders’ two-day gathering in Asheville, North Carolina, kicking off on Monday.
“I’ve known him for 15 years. He’s a great economist. I think he’s under-rated in how savvy he is on markets,” Bessent said on BOJ chief Ueda.
When asked whether the yen is still making disorderly moves, Bessent said: “Oh, no. I think it’s pretty well contained.”
Japan and the United States carried out a rare joint yen-buying intervention on July 31, signaling their determination to prevent a selloff in the yen and Japanese government bonds from spilling over into global markets.
Bessent had repeatedly called on the BOJ to raise interest rates to combat inflation and unwelcome yen declines, remarks that have led markets to nearly fully price in the chance of a rate hike at its next policy meeting in September.
In the Reuters interview, Bessent said Japan has already “conquered” deflation and shifted to “Takaichi-nomics” under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, so Japan can experience the benefits of past policies aimed at rejuvenating its economy.
Bessent said “Takaichi-nomics” is more shareholder-friendly with substantial deregulation made especially in the workforce, which means less government intervention.
“I think they should just sit back and enjoy the success of Abenomics and let that run,” Bessent said on recommendations he had on Japan’s fiscal policy.
(Reporting by David Lawder and Leika Kihara; Editing by Will Dunham)
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