As the Bank of Japan vowed to maintain ultra-easy monetary policy despite clear indications that other major central banks will tighten further to combat surging inflation, the Japanese yen depreciated past 147 per dollar. Briefly, it breached the 147.64 level, bringing it to its lowest level since August 1990. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda emphasized the importance of assisting the economy’s recovery from the pandemic, as well as his desire to achieve the 2% inflation target in a sustainable and stable manner. Meanwhile, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki reiterated the government’s readiness to take “decisive” action to counter rapid yen declines, but added that the rate of change, rather than the level, is a more important factor in determining whether to intervene again, Japanese authorities conducted their largest-ever currency intervention last month to support the rapidly falling yen.
