The dollar-yen rate in the Tokyo foreign exchange market was in the upper ¥159 range as of 3 p.m., slightly firmer on the impact of higher oil prices. However, the trading range was limited and the market's direction remained unclear.
As of 3 p.m., the dollar was trading in a ¥159.88-¥159.88 range, up 31 sen against the yen from around ¥159.57 at 5 p.m. the previous day. In overseas trading the previous day, the dollar fell to the ¥159.40 range early in European trading before being bought back and moving sideways in the ¥159.60-70 range. During US trading, it rose to around ¥159.90 against a backdrop of higher oil prices and rising long-term interest rates, before subsequently giving up ground.
In early Tokyo trading, the dollar held in the ¥159.70 range, then came under somewhat heavier selling after 9 a.m. and weakened to the ¥159.60 range. Buying by real-demand investors lifted it to the ¥159.80 range around the central rate-setting time. Gains then paused toward noon, with the dollar struggling to rise in the ¥159.70 range, before buying gained a slight edge in the afternoon and pushed the rate modestly higher.
Finance Minister Katayama Satsuki (片山さつき), who met with Treasury Secretary Bessent in the morning, pointed to the importance of an orderly yen market, but the market reaction was limited. Some market participants said the rising trend in oil prices prompted buying of the dollar against the yen in the afternoon, but concerns about intervention by the government and the Bank of Japan remain strong, and selling on rallies is likely just below ¥160, according to market views.
The euro strengthened against the yen in the afternoon but moved little against the dollar. As of 3 p.m., the euro was at ¥185.58-59 and $1.1607-08.