Bessent Defuses Yen Concerns with Contained Assessment
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed recent yen movements on Sunday, saying they were 'pretty well contained' and not disorderly. This assessment comes after a rare joint Japan-U.S. intervention last month to stabilize the Japanese currency.
Bessent expressed confidence in Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda's ability to make informed monetary policy decisions with the backing of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. When asked about potential interest rate hikes, Bessent said he would not tell the BOJ what to do but emphasized that Abenomics, a reflationary program, has likely reached its end.
Bessent plans to meet Ueda on the sidelines of the Group of 20 finance leaders' gathering in Asheville, North Carolina, which begins on Monday. He praised Ueda's market savvy and economic expertise, calling him 'a great economist.'