Japanese finance officials have been talking tough about the yen's rise. Whether they will act now is another matter.
Close monitoring. Vigilance. Closely watching. Japanese officials have all kinds of ways to describe how they're keeping tabs on their stubbornly robust currency. But will they do anything beyond verbal intervention right now?
Not likely, says Lee Wai Tuck, a currency strategist at Forecast. He says Japanese officials are likely to wait until the U.S. gets its debt-ceilingruckus under control. He also thinks the yen would have to break through 76.25.
The yen has lagged the Swiss franc as a safe-haven alternative to the dollar, partly because investors think the Swiss National Bank is less likely to try and stem that currency's rise. Now, maybe, the yen has a bit more of a window.
You can watch the whole discussion right here.
