The United States, Japan and South Korea agreed to "consult closely" on foreign exchange markets in their first trilateral finance dialogue on Wednesday, nodding to concerns from Tokyo and Seoul over their currencies' recent sharp declines.
The rare warning from the three countries' finance chiefs came as receding expectations of a near-term U.S. interest rate cut pushed the yen to 34-year lows, keeping markets on alert for the possibility of an intervention by Japan to prop up the currency.
"We will continue to cooperate to promote sustainable economic growth, financial stability, as well as orderly and well-functioning financial markets," according to a joint statement released after the trilateral meeting.