BOJ’s Nakamura: Weak yen is positive for Japan’s exports, raises costs for imports

Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member Toyoaki Nakamura is back on the wires now, via Reuters, expressing his view on the yen and the impact of the Fed rate hikes on the economy.

Key quotes

Yen has weakened significantly so far this year; high volatility has had big impact on Japan’s economy.

Yen falls driven mostly by US rate hikes, which are undertaken to tame strong US demand.

Weak yen is positive for Japan’s exports, raises costs for imports.

There are pros and cons to weak yen so must watch carefully, though there is not much BOJ can do as recent yen moves are driven by changes in the US economy.

Don't expect US economy to slide in to severe recession, no big change to view global economy likely to maintain growth of around 3%.

Japan's manufacturers feeling pain from rising import costs but will get boost once supply constraints begin to ease.

Japan business executives becoming more aware of need to raise wages to hire, which is a change seen recently.

Market reaction

At the time of writing, USD/JPY keeps its range around 136.70, unfazed by these comments. The spot is down 0.32% on the day.

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