Trump Confronts Japan on Yen Weakness in Summit with Takaichi
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama revealed that US President Donald Trump expressed concern over the yen's weakness during a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
The meeting, which took place in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, was marked by a 'timely' discussion about China ahead of Trump's planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to Katayama.
Katayama said that the leaders discussed foreign exchange and reaffirmed their shared stance behind their July 31 coordinated intervention, including a commitment to counter excessive volatility and disorderly moves in the yen.
The yen has been sliding against major currencies due to strong US economic data, a hawkish Federal Reserve, and surging US bond yields. The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield jumped to a 30-year high of 3.115 percent on Friday following a steep selloff in the US market.
Katayama declined to comment on whether global rises in government bond yields were discussed at the summit, stating only that interest rates are affected by various factors and that Japan is 'steadily doing what we can'. The dollar has been rallying against the yen and other major currencies, driven by strong US economic data.