Reuters first to report EU criticism of Japan’s currency intervention

Reuters was the first international news agency to report criticism by the European Union of Japan’s currency intervention to weaken the yen, its first intervention in six years. Reuters Correspondent Silke Koltrowitz went to the small Swiss municipality of Kehrsatz to cover Jean-Claude Juncker, the visiting chairman of the group of euro zone finance ministers. Juncker’s statement that “unilateral actions are not the appropriate way to deal with global imbalances” was a clear signal that the European Central Bank would not support the Bank of Japan’s intervention, and that any extended intervention by Japan might face European resistance. The Reuters story, which was not matched by competitors, was picked up by analysts from third-party providers such as IGM, and financial websites including FXstreet.com and forexfeeders.com.