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Bessent and Ueda Meet as U.S. Backs Decisive Monetary Policy Measures

North Carolina - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda that he strongly supports decisive market intervention and monetary policy measures by Japan to address excessive yen weakness, saying the currency's depreciation is contributing to inflationary pressure.

The U.S. Treasury Department said on September 1 that Bessent and Ueda met on August 30 while attending a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 major economies.

According to the department, Bessent told Ueda that he "strongly supports Japan's decisive market intervention and monetary policy measures to address the yen's substantial undervaluation."

Bessent also pointed out that the weaker yen has contributed to inflationary pressure in Japan.

He stressed the importance of appropriately formulating and communicating monetary policy in order to stabilize inflation expectations and avoid excessive volatility in foreign exchange markets.

Market participants interpreted Bessent's remarks as signaling support for further interest rate increases by the Bank of Japan.

Source: TBS

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