Currency Manipulation Supported by US

The Japanese Yen held close to its recently struck low versus the greenback during the Asian session earlier following comments made by an official of the U.S. Treasury Department in support of the Japanese government’s efforts to end its prolonged period of economic stagnation. As reported at 1:21 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY pair was trading at 94.30 Yen, edging slightly higher from late trade in New York, and approaching the recently struck 32-month peak of 94.465 Yen. The EUR/JPY pair was settling back at 126.28 Yen, coming off a 2% gain and edging closer to last week’s 34-month peak of 127.71 Yen.

Despite the Japanese government’s manipulation of the currency, as the G20 summit approaches, government officials worldwide are considering the issuance of a joint statement which reaffirms their collective conviction to exchange rates which are “market determined.” This follows the call by French officials for a discussion of the effects the Euro’s rise is having on certain economies within the Eurozone, chiefly, France. The EUR/USD pair was trading at $1.3398, not far from the February 8th trough of $1.3353, and edging farther from the 15-month high struck of $1.3711 earlier in the month. The European Central Bank’s position is that any talk of a weaker Euro by the individual governments is merely a diversion and they should focus instead on getting their own economic house in order.