G-7 Finance ministers to intervene, prop up Japanese yen
The Group of Seven (G-7) Finance ministers had agreed to intervene in the markets to stabilise the Japanese yen that would help hasten the economic recovery efforts of the country as it struggles to rebuild after the devastating earthquake.
In a concerted effort to ease the impact of the devastating earthquake in Japan to the rest of the global economies, members of the G-7 developed nations will jointly sell the yen as their markets open today.
Japan's Finance Minister Yoshiko Noda told reporters in Tokyo today that this has been agreed upon in this morning's video conference meeting initiated by France Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.
The Japanese government started with the intervention and the currency was down 3.1 percent against the dollar in Tokyo trading as of 9:34 a.m.
The G-7 said in a joint statement after a conference call of its finance ministers and central bank chiefs that it will "provide any needed cooperation" with Japan.
Japan's central bank also said in a statement that it will pursue "powerful monetary easing" as policy makers deemed it necessary to exert more effort to prevent the world's third largest economy from falling into a recession.
A stronger Japanese yen would be more harmful to the rehabilitation efforts and economic recovery of Japan as it relies heavily in its exports sector.