Japan’s finance minister vows action as yen breaches 160 threshold

TOKYO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Japan’s government will respond appropriately to currency volatility, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Friday, renewing her warning as the yen briefly crossed the key 160 per dollar threshold.

"Recent movements in the foreign exchange market have been one-sided and rapid," Katayama said at a regular news conference. "We will continue to work closely with the US Treasury and respond appropriately," she added.

The yen fell to as low as 160.03 per dollar, crossing 160 for the first time since early September, following a hawkish reassessment of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate path.

Katayama’s remarks followed a similar warning from top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura on Thursday, who said it is "too early to forget" this summer’s intervention.

Japan last conducted interventions on three days between July 30 and August 3, spending a record total of 15.4 trillion yen ($96.47 billion), as the Japanese currency reached its weakest levels in 40 years near 164 per dollar.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s quarterly report on currency market operations on Thursday said that it bought 79.4 billion yen in the spot market on July 31, selling euros from the Exchange Stabilization Fund.

The purchase was the first US yen-buying intervention since 1998, and the report showed Washington acted alongside Tokyo to support the Japanese currency.

($1 = 159.6400 yen)