TOKYO, Dec 24 Reuters Japan Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reiterated Tokyo39;s discomfort over excessive foreign exchange moves and put speculators on notice that authorities are ready to act to stabilise a faltering yen.

There is no change to our stance, Kato said when asked about the yen39;s persistent weakness at a regular news conference.

I would repeat what I39;ve said. It39;s important for currencies to move in stable manner reflecting fundamentals and the government has been alarmed by foreign exchange moves including those driven by speculators. We39;ll take appropriate action against excessive moves, he added.

Kato last week explicitly described the currency market situation as alarming, signaling the government39;s heightened concerns over the sliding yen.

The yen was pinned near a fivemonth low past 157 per dollar, having already fallen 4.7 this month into territory that is keeping traders on alert to any intervention from Japanese authorities.

Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Shri Navaratnam

Source Reuters