Dollar-yen is currently in the upper ¥159 range, up from early Tokyo levels and holding in the ¥159 range at the start of New York trading. Chair Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole and the release of the annual benchmark revision to the US employment statistics are both scheduled for tonight, with market reaction being closely watched. The Ministry of Finance's intervention data are reported to represent one of the largest quarterly amounts on record.
Dollar-yen is trading at ¥159.64 per dollar after rising from around ¥159.30 in early Tokyo trading to approximately ¥159.70 in London, before correcting to the ¥159.50 range.
Market attention is focused on Chair Warsh's keynote speech at Jackson Hole from 23:00 tonight, with investors watching his assessment of current employment and inflation conditions and his outlook for the future.
The US Department of Labor's annual benchmark revision to the employment statistics is also due at 23:00. An upward revision is expected, but the market reaction is likely to be limited because it will coincide with the start of the speech.
According to the Ministry of Finance's data on foreign-exchange intervention, the intervention from late July to early August was reportedly the largest quarterly amount, exceeding $1.5 billion.
Euro-dollar is in the $1.1640 range, euro-yen has risen from the lower to the upper ¥185 range, and sterling-yen has climbed to the upper ¥216 range.