Japan top FX diplomat says authorities to take action as needed on yen

By Makiko Yamazaki

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, said on Friday authorities will take action as needed in the foreign exchange market.

Kanda also told reporters that recent yen moves were somewhat rapid, but declined to comment on whether authorities had intervened in the currency market to prop up the yen.

“Interest rate differentials (between Japan and other countries) are narrowing, so it’s natural” to believe that recent yen moves are speculative, he said.

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, writing by Leika Kihara; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Sandra Maler)