Trump Raises Concerns About Japan's Weak Yen with Prime Minister Takaichi
Japan's Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama revealed that US President Donald Trump expressed concern about the yen's weakness during a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
The meeting took place on Tuesday in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Katayama said that Trump raised his concerns about the yen's continued slide, despite joint intervention by Tokyo and Washington in July.
Katayama's comments came after the dollar rallied against the yen and other major currencies, driven by strong US economic data, a hawkish Federal Reserve, and surging US bond yields. The yen strengthened slightly after Katayama's remarks, rising from 158.60 per dollar to trade at around 158.
The weak yen is driving up energy import costs that are already elevated due to the US-Israeli war on Iran, fuelling concerns about an inflation overshoot. Japan's policymakers and the US are worried that a selloff in Japanese bonds could spill over into the Treasury market.