Japanese authorities cannot control yen levels with currency intervention but they have various tools to smooth out volatile moves driven by speculators, former top finance ministry bureaucrat Yasushi Kinoshita said on Monday.

Japan has been conducting yen-buying interventions since September to prevent a sharp slide in the currency driven by the gap between steadily tighter U.S. monetary policy and the Bank of Japan's continued ultra-loose policy.

"Currency intervention cannot and isn't intended to move the yen significantly up and down, or keep it at a certain level for a sustained period of time," said Kinoshita, seen as a candidate to join the Bank of Japan's leadership next year.

"Rather, it's aimed at preventing speculators from triggering volatile moves," said Kinoshita, who played a key role when Japan conducted yen-selling intervention in 2011.

"Japanese authorities are armed with the wisdom and various tools to fight speculators," he told Reuters in an interview.

Kinoshita said the central bank must eventually exit its ultra-loose policy but added that the BOJ must tread carefully and coordinate closely with the government in withdrawing stimulus.

"Everyone understands the BOJ must eventually head for the exit," Kinoshita said.

"It must proceed steadily but cautiously," he said, as withdrawing fiscal and monetary support simultaneously and too hastily would hurt the fragile economy.

Kinoshita, who retains close ties with incumbent policymakers, served as vice finance minister for about a year from 2013, when BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda deployed his "bazooka" stimulus programme to eradicate deflation.

He is seen as one candidate to join the BOJ's leadership when Kuroda's term ends next April and those of his two deputies run out in March.

Some investors bet the BOJ will start to phase out its massive stimulus upon dovish governor Kuroda's departure, as prolonged ultra-low rates drive unwelcome yen falls that boost import costs.

"Given that what the BOJ is doing now is unprecedented, it won't be easy," Kinoshita said of the likelihood of a smooth lift-off from ultra-low rates.

The BOJ sets a negative short-term rate target and caps the 10-year bond yield around zero, remaining an outlier among a wave of central banks raising rates to combat soaring inflation.

Kinoshita was director-general of the international bureau when the finance ministry intervened in 2011 to stem a sharp yen rise that was hurting exports. He is currently chairman of the government-backed Development Bank of Japan.(Reuters)

Sri Lanka's key inflation rate eased to 66% in October after hitting 69.8% in September, the crisis-struck country's statistics department said on Monday.

The still extremely elevated Colombo Consumer Price Index (LKCCPI=ECI) (CCPI) reflected a 85.6% jump in food prices in October and a 56.3% climb in the non-food group, the Census and Statistics Department said in a statement.

However, the pace of food inflation slowed from a all-time high of 94.9% in September.

Sri Lanka has been struggling with soaring inflation for nearly a year, partly triggered by its worst financial crisis in seven decades and a ill-thought out ban on chemical fertiliser implemented last year, which has since been reversed.

"We are finally seeing a drop in inflation and expect this to continue over the next few months. However, inflation is only likely to hit single digits after the second quarter of next year," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research at First Capital Holdings.

The CCPI, released at the end of each month and closely watched by central bank policymakers, acts as a lead indicator for broader national prices and shows how inflation is evolving in Colombo, Sri Lanka's biggest city.

Sri Lanka's other main inflation measure, the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), which captures broader retail price inflation, also touched a record 73.7% in September.

In an effort to tame prices and stabilise markets, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has raised interest rates by 900 basis points so far this year. Its final policy announcement for the year will be in the last week of November.

Sustained high inflation would make it tricky for the government to introduce fresh indirect taxes in its upcoming budget for next year that will be presented to parliament on Nov. 14, analysts said.

Higher taxes are essential to boost public revenue to anchor fiscal consolidation and lock down a $2.9 billion bailout programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).(Reuters)

A family look around vegetables at a market in the rampant food inflation, amid Sri Lanka's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 30 , 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's key inflation rate eased to 66% in October after hitting 69.8% in September, the crisis-struck country's statistics department said on Monday.

The still extremely elevated Colombo Consumer Price Index (LKCCPI=ECI) (CCPI) reflected a 85.6% jump in food prices in October and a 56.3% climb in the non-food group, the Census and Statistics Department said in a statement.

However, the pace of food inflation slowed from a all-time high of 94.9% in September.

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Sri Lanka has been struggling with soaring inflation for nearly a year, partly triggered by its worst financial crisis in seven decades and a ill-thought out ban on chemical fertiliser implemented last year, which has since been reversed.

"We are finally seeing a drop in inflation and expect this to continue over the next few months. However, inflation is only likely to hit single digits after the second quarter of next year," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research at First Capital Holdings.

A female journalist was crushed to death by a vehicle carrying former prime minister Imran Khan in an accident in eastern Pakistan on Sunday as he led a convoy along with his supporters towards the capital, party officials and journalists said.

The incident prompted Khan to halt the "long march" that he is leading towards Islamabad to pressure the federal government into calling snap elections. His convoy started from the eastern city of Lahore, and is expected to reach Islamabad on Friday.

"Shocked & deeply saddened by the terrible accident that led to the death of Channel 5 reporter Sadaf Naeem during our March today," Khan said on Twitter.

Khan said Sunday's activities planned by his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had been cancelled.

Journalist Qazzafi Butt, who witnessed the incident, told Reuters that Naeem, 40, lost her balance has she tried to climb onto Khan's truck to get a sound bite from the former premier.

The wheel of the truck ran over her head as she fell on the road, he said. PTI leader Mussarat Jamshed Cheema confirmed that Naeem was run over by Khan's vehicle. Local police officials did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.

The incident occurred as Khan's convoy was near the city of Gujranwala, 220 km (136 miles) from Islamabad. He plans to hold political gatherings in cities along the route to Islamabad to build support.

Since being ousted in April through a parliamentary vote, Khan has held rallies across Pakistan, stirring opposition against a government that is struggling to bring the economy out of the crisis that Khan's administration left it in.

PTI has said Khan was willing to negotiate with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's coalition government if it announced a date for a snap election. The government says polls will be held as scheduled in October or November next year. Khan says he is not willing to wait.(Reuters)

The New Zealand government said on Monday it has suspended its official bilateral human rights dialogue with Iran, saying bilateral approaches were "no longer tenable" with basic human rights being denied in the country.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said in a statement the decision to suspend the dialogue sends a strong signal that bilateral approaches on human rights were not tenable with Iran denying basic human rights and violently suppressing protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by the morality police for attire deemed inappropriate.

"Violence against women, girls or any other members of Iranian society to prevent their exercise of universal human rights is unacceptable and must end. This is clearly a difficult time for the people of Iran," Mahuta said.

New Zealand and Iran had established the dialogue in 2018 with the stated hope of advancing human rights issues and concerns. A first round of talks was held in 2021, with the next one scheduled to take place later in 2022.

New Zealand officials last week confirmed that two New Zealanders who had been detained in Iran for a number of months, had been released and were safe. The New Zealand government also last Wednesday updated its travel warnings for Iran and urged New Zealanders currently there to leave.(Reuters)