As of noon on the 16th, the dollar was trading in the low ¥155 range in the Tokyo foreign exchange market. It rose briefly to nearly ¥155.50 but struggled somewhat to extend its gains toward noon. Buying led the market against the backdrop of higher crude oil prices and rising US long-term interest rates, but selling into the dollar's gains emerged after the rise in US interest rates paused in after-hours trading.
In the Tokyo market on the morning of the 16th, buying of the dollar against the yen led the market against the backdrop of higher crude oil prices and rising US long-term interest rates, with the dollar briefly rising into the ¥155.40 range before 9 a.m. It subsequently recovered into the ¥155.30 range on demand-driven buying around the Tokyo fixing, after which buying momentum extended the gains to near ¥152.50, but the rate edged lower toward the afternoon.
As of noon, the rate was around ¥155.24 to the dollar, compared with ¥154.87–88 at 5 p.m. the previous day, representing a dollar gain of approximately 37 sen against the yen. The dollar briefly rose into the ¥155.20 range at the opening of European trading but was pushed lower again after selling emerged.
Several financial institutions said a wait-and-see mood among market participants was expected to strengthen in the afternoon ahead of the release of the FOMC results. As of noon, the rate remained in a range around the low ¥155 level. The euro moved little against both the yen and the dollar, trading at around ¥179 to the euro and approximately $1.1540–1.1542 against the dollar.
Overall, buying led the market at times against the backdrop of higher crude oil prices and movements in US interest rates, but the easing of the rise in US rates in after-hours trading and caution ahead of the FOMC weighed on the market, leaving the rate slightly lower before noon.