By Makiko Yamazaki, Tamiyuki Kihara and Leika Kihara
TOKYO, July 2 (Reuters) - ***** anese officials are abandoning their habit of telegraphing intervention risks, instead signalling a more targeted campaign to squeeze speculators and raise the cost of betting against the battered yen, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Departing from the calibrated jawboning that preceded previous bouts of intervention, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) could step in abruptly to wipe out speculative yen positions, the sources said. Officials are also avoiding any suggestion of a specific "line in the sand" exchange-rate level that would trigger action.
The shift reflects a more aggressive approach by the MOF, which is using silence as a policy tool to keep traders guessing. That raises the risk of a surprise intervention driven by an accumulation of speculative short-yen bets rather than by the currency crossing a publicly understood threshold, the sources said.
The MOF's approach and the Bank of ***** an's continued hawkish rhetoric signal a coordinated effort to keep yen bears at bay, two other sources said.
TOKYO, July 2 (Reuters) - ***** anese officials are abandoning their habit of telegraphing intervention risks, instead signalling a more targeted campaign to squeeze speculators and raise the cost of betting against the battered yen, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Departing from the calibrated jawboning that preceded previous bouts of intervention, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) could step in abruptly to wipe out speculative yen positions, the sources said. Officials are also avoiding any suggestion of a specific "line in the sand" exchange-rate level that would trigger action.
The shift reflects a more aggressive approach by the MOF, which is using silence as a policy tool to keep traders guessing. That raises the risk of a surprise intervention driven by an accumulation of speculative short-yen bets rather than by the currency crossing a publicly understood threshold, the sources said.
The MOF's approach and the Bank of ***** an's continued hawkish rhetoric signal a coordinated effort to keep yen bears at bay, two other sources said.
3 months ago
