TOKYO, April 2 - Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said on Wednesday that Japanese authorities were ready to back up their verbal warnings against currency fluctuations with action. "We will keep our warning stance," he told a parliamentary committee. "We are keeping close watch on developments in the currency market... We are closely watching so that there is no volatility and markets move stably." Shiokawa said on Tuesday that authorities were ready to intervene to prevent rapid movements in foreign exchange rates. The Ministry of Finance confirmed on Monday that Japanese authorities had conducted yen-selling intervention worth 1.2 trillion yen ($10.16 billion) in the past month in a bid to ease volatility in currency markets caused by geopolitical concerns. The dollar was quoted at 118.17/22 yen compared with 118.03/11 yen in late U.S. trading on Tuesday.//www.reutwrs.com

[up]