Lew cautions Japan against currency intervention

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Tuesday said he was against intervention by Japan in its currency market. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Lew said Japan has "lived by the agreements it has made to refrain from competitive devaluation, to refrain from exchange rate targeting. We've made it clear we think it is important for all parties to the agreements to continue to live by them," he said. He said Japanese authorities should focus on fiscal policy measures and structure reform and not rely only on "aggressive" monetary policy steps already taken. Japanese officials are worried that the strengthening of the yen over the last month may hurt the country's economy. The yen has risen further against the dollar after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady last week.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.