By David Lawder and Leika Kihara
ASHEVILLE, North Carolina, Sept 1 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for sound monetary policy to anchor inflation expectations and avoid excessive currency volatility during his meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday.
The remarks, which underline Bessent’s recent calls for the BOJ to raise interest rates, reinforce the case for Ueda to argue for a hike at his bank’s policy meeting on September 17-18.
The two officials met on Sunday on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers’ and central bank governors’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
“The Secretary emphasized the importance of sound formulation and communication of monetary policy to anchor inflation expectations and avoid excess exchange rate volatility,” the statement said.
“Secretary Bessent also expressed strong support for Japan’s decisive market and monetary steps to address the substantial undervaluation of the yen and noted the role of yen weakness in contributing to domestic inflationary pressures in Japan.”
Ueda and Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama were attending a two-day meeting of the G20 finance leaders, ending on Tuesday.
(Reporting by David Lawder and Daphne Psaledakis; writing by Susan Heavey, Editing by Bhargav Acharya)
