<p>The coordinated intervention in international currency markets marked the first by the G 7 countries since the fall of 2000, when the G 7 intervened in an effort to bolster the euro. <br />G 7 officials said the United States, Britain, Canada and the European Central Bank will join with Japan in a ‘concerted intervention’ in currency markets. <br /><br />“We express our readiness to provide needed cooperation and our confidence in the resilience of Japanese economy and financial sector,’ G 7 finance officials said in their joint statement. The announcement came following a telephone conference call among finance officials from the G 7 nations. <br /><br />Japan Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said planned intervention was meant to calm ‘volatility’ and G 7 governments were not aiming at a specific exchange rate for the yen. <br /><br />The yen’s strength in the wake of disaster has been attributed to investors expecting the Japanese to repatriate funds from overseas to pay reconstruction costs — or in the case of insurance companies, to pay claims for massive loss of property and life. G-7 officials said we will monitor exchange markets closely and will cooperate as appropriate.</p>
<p>The coordinated intervention in international currency markets marked the first by the G 7 countries since the fall of 2000, when the G 7 intervened in an effort to bolster the euro. <br />G 7 officials said the United States, Britain, Canada and the European Central Bank will join with Japan in a ‘concerted intervention’ in currency markets. <br /><br />“We express our readiness to provide needed cooperation and our confidence in the resilience of Japanese economy and financial sector,’ G 7 finance officials said in their joint statement. The announcement came following a telephone conference call among finance officials from the G 7 nations. <br /><br />Japan Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said planned intervention was meant to calm ‘volatility’ and G 7 governments were not aiming at a specific exchange rate for the yen. <br /><br />The yen’s strength in the wake of disaster has been attributed to investors expecting the Japanese to repatriate funds from overseas to pay reconstruction costs — or in the case of insurance companies, to pay claims for massive loss of property and life. G-7 officials said we will monitor exchange markets closely and will cooperate as appropriate.</p>