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TOKYO\/SEOUL, March 14 (Reuters) – Japan and South Korea expressed concern on Saturday about the rapid declines in their currencies, saying they were \u200cready to act against excessive foreign-exchange volatility.<\/p>\n
Finance Ministers Satsuki Katayama of \u200cJapan and Koo Yun-cheol of South Korea “expressed serious concern over the recent sharp depreciation of the \u200bKorean won and the Japanese yen,” they said in a statement after their annual meeting in Tokyo.<\/p>\n
The yen and won have slid as mounting tensions from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran have driven the dollar higher on safe-haven demand and \u200cbattered the currencies of countries \u2060heavily reliant on imported oil.<\/p>\n
“Furthermore, they reaffirmed that they will closely monitor foreign exchange markets and continue to take appropriate \u2060actions against excessive volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates,” the statement said.<\/p>\n
The yen touched its lowest in 20 months on Friday and is near the \u200bline of \u200b160.00 to the dollar that many in \u200bthe market think might prompt \u200cJapan to intervene to support the currency. The won breached a psychological barrier of 1,500 per dollar this month for the first time since March 2009.<\/p>\n
Tokyo and Seoul shared the view that significant volatility had emerged in financial markets, including foreign exchange, Katayama told a press conference after the meeting.<\/p>\n
“The Japanese \u200cgovernment is fully prepared to respond at \u200bany time, bearing in mind the impact that \u200bcurrency moves may have on \u200bpeople’s livelihoods amid surging oil prices, and I believe both \u200csides share that understanding,” she said.<\/p>\n
Katayama \u200bregularly says Japan \u200bis ready to act regarding yen moves, although some policymakers privately say that intervening to prop up the yen now could prove futile, as \u200bthe flood of dollar \u200cdemand will only intensify if the war persists.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee \u200band Jack Kim in Seoul and Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo; Editing \u200bby Tom Hogue and William Mallard)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n