Bessent Backs BOJ Chief Ueda Amid Yen Intervention

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed confidence in Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda's ability to make the right decisions for Japan's economy.

In an interview with NHK, Bessent stated that he believes part of Japan's inflation uptick was due to a weak yen and energy prices.

Bessent predicted that as energy prices decrease and excessive yen weakness is addressed, Japan's inflation will slow down, allowing the country and its currency to enter a 'virtuous cycle'.

This comes after Bessent called for higher Japanese interest rates in previous comments, heightening the chances of an interest rate hike by the BOJ at its next policy meeting on September 17-18.