The yen surged in foreign exchange trading on the 3rd, briefly reaching the ¥155 range to the dollar. The rate was around ¥157 as of 5 p.m.
The yen surged in foreign exchange trading, briefly reaching the ¥155 range to the dollar. Expectations of an additional Bank of Japan rate hike strengthened, while expectations for rate hikes in the United States receded, prompting yen buying and dollar selling in anticipation of a narrowing US-Japan interest-rate differential.
As of 5 p.m. in the Tokyo market, the dollar-yen rate was ¥157.03–¥157.06, with the yen up and the dollar down by approximately ¥2.06 from the previous day. The yen subsequently strengthened in the New York market, reaching ¥155.49–¥155.59 to the dollar.
Vice Minister of Finance Mimura Jun (三村 淳) told reporters that he was “neither reassured nor satisfied” with the yen’s appreciation, indicating that the authorities remained on a war footing. Markets remain alert to the possibility of foreign-exchange intervention by the government and the Bank of Japan.