US, Japan finance chiefs say current dollar-yen reflects fundamentals
BANFF, Alberta, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato agreed on Wednesday that the dollar-yen exchange rate currently reflects fundamentals, the U.S. Treasury Department said.
"They reaffirmed their shared belief that exchange rates should be market determined and that, at present, the dollar-yen exchange rate reflects fundamentals," the department said in a statement.
Bessent and Kato met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven finance ministers gathering in Banff, Canada.
They discussed trade and currency issues, but as in their previous meeting in April, they did not discuss foreign exchange levels, according to the department.
Japan and the United States have agreed to keep the thorny issue of currency rates separate from direct trade negotiations, setting it aside for talks between their finance ministers.
President Donald Trump's focus on addressing the huge U.S. trade deficit and his past remarks accusing Japan of intentionally maintaining a weak yen have led to market expectations that Tokyo will face pressure to strengthen the yen's value against the dollar to give U.S. manufacturers a competitive advantage.
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This is the full statement: Today, the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom have announced sanctions and other measures targeting Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Settler violence is incited by extremist rhetoric which calls for Palestinians to be driven from their homes, encourages violence and human rights abuses and fundamentally rejects the two-state solution. Settler violence has led to the deaths of Palestinian civilians and the displacement of whole communities. We are steadfastly committed to the two-state solution which is the only way to guarantee security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians and ensure long term stability in the region, but it is imperilled by extremist settler violence and settlement expansion. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous. These actions are not acceptable. We have engaged the Israeli Government on this issue extensively, yet violent perpetrators continue to act with encouragement and impunity. This is why we have taken this action now – to hold those responsible to account. The Israeli Government must uphold its obligations under international law and we call on it to take meaningful action to end extremist, violent and expansionist rhetoric. The measures announced today do not deviate from our unwavering support for Israel's security and we continue to condemn the horrific terror attacks of 7 October by Hamas. Today's measures are targeted towards individuals who in our view undermine Israel's own security and its standing in the world. 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