Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Wednesday that “recent yen moves are rather rapid and one-sided,” per Jiji News. Additional quotes: “Recent forex moves are somewhat rapid.” “Rapid fx moves not desirable.” “Forex rates should reflect fundamentals.” “Have strong interest whether these recent forex moves will continue.” Market reaction: At the time of writing, USD/JPY is trading at 143.23, up 0.32% on the day, little affected by the latest Japanese verbal intervention. (full story)

Suzuki is referring to the falling yen. 'Somewhat rapid' is a very weak comment. I would have expected something more forceful after the shellacking the yen received overnight. Maybe those are still to come. OK, here we go: • rapid FX moves are not desirable. • recent yen moves are rather rapid and one-sided. OK, that 'one-sided comment is an escalation of rhetoric, a little more forceful in his expression of dissatisfaction with the yen selling. More: • FX rates should reflect fundamentals. • have strong interest whether these recent FX moves will continue. -- On that escalation in rhetoric, I posted a couple of ... (full story)