NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on Friday he was unaware of any new market intervention by Tokyo after there was a sudden slide in the yen against the dollar.
Kan told a news conference on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly that a previous intervention was motivated by the principle that excessive currency movements were bad for the economy.
'I haven't heard that there was yet another intervention in the market,' he said. 'The recent currency intervention by Japan was conducted ... for the purpose of restraining excessive fluctuation in exchange rates.'
A sudden slide in the yen against the dollar on Friday stirred suspicions Japanese authorities intervened for a second time this month to try to prevent the currency's strength from worsening a faltering recovery.
Kan, just re-elected as leader of the ruling party, faces a divided parliament so is keen to curb the strength in the yen, which has hurt Japan's stock market and sparked the ire of exporters.
(Reporting by Paul Eckert; Writing by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Todd Eastham and Jerry Norton) Keywords: jn JAPAN CURRENCY/KAN (michelle.nichols@reuters.com; +1 646 223 6117; Reuters Messaging: michelle.nichols.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Kan told a news conference on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly that a previous intervention was motivated by the principle that excessive currency movements were bad for the economy.
'I haven't heard that there was yet another intervention in the market,' he said. 'The recent currency intervention by Japan was conducted ... for the purpose of restraining excessive fluctuation in exchange rates.'
A sudden slide in the yen against the dollar on Friday stirred suspicions Japanese authorities intervened for a second time this month to try to prevent the currency's strength from worsening a faltering recovery.
Kan, just re-elected as leader of the ruling party, faces a divided parliament so is keen to curb the strength in the yen, which has hurt Japan's stock market and sparked the ire of exporters.
(Reporting by Paul Eckert; Writing by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Todd Eastham and Jerry Norton) Keywords: jn JAPAN CURRENCY/KAN (michelle.nichols@reuters.com; +1 646 223 6117; Reuters Messaging: michelle.nichols.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.