OSAKA — Finance ministers from Japan and the United States discussed currency issues Friday as market participants raised expectations that foreign exchange will be spotlighted at the Group of Eight finance ministers' meeting, but no specifics were offered.
Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said that when he met U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson ahead of the G8 finance ministers' two-day meeting in Osaka that started Friday, he discussed currencies but declined to comment on whether they touched on the dollar.
Market expectations have grown recently due to a series of recent comments by U.S. leaders, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and President George W. Bush, that experts see as signaling they hope the greenback strengthens.
The dollar's fall has been blamed in part for the soaring oil prices as traders invest in oil as a hedge against the unit.
Nukaga did not deny the possibility that the finance chiefs could discuss currency issues further Saturday.
