Exchange-Rate Assessments: Imbalances and Account Surplus

exchange-rate assessments: But Aso told the IMF's steering committee there were limits to using exchange-rate assessments to address current account imbalances for a country like Japan, according to The Japan Times. That is because the recent increases in Japan's current account surplus are driven largely by rising dividend payments and repatriation of revenues from overseas investments, instead of any boost to exports from a weak yen. Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the spring meeting of the 189-nation International Monetary Fund and the World Bank called on the IMF to enhance surveillance of its members' exchange rates and external imbalances, as large trade imbalances would hamper free and fair trade. In cases where excessive' imbalances exist, they should be addressed by a package of macroeconomic and structural policy measures, Aso said in a speech to the International Monetary and Financial Committee. U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized countries like Japan, Germany and China for running large trade surpluses with the United States and weakening their currencies to gain an unfair trade advantage. Adjustment through changes in the exchange rate is not necessarily required, he added. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.