In the New York foreign exchange market, the timing of yen-buying intervention was seen as a good opportunity to sell yen, and USD/JPY was bought back after briefly falling to the lower half of the ¥157 range.
USD/JPY fell to around ¥157.60, then the yen strengthened sharply at one point during London hours, sending the pair rapidly down from the upper ¥157 range into the ¥156 range. It was subsequently bought back as the market reacted sensitively regardless of whether there were intervention expectations.
Market participants said that the yen's downtrend would remain unchanged even if the BOJ raised rates or Japanese authorities intervened, and pointed out that the timing of yen-buying intervention was a good opportunity to sell yen.
The BOJ raised rates last week, but many viewed the move as merely emphasizing a change in market conditions rather than signaling a hawkish shift, with the benefits of economic support measures and low interest rates continuing to be maintained.
Views were expressed that if the Federal Reserve continues raising rates, the Japan-U.S. interest-rate differential will not narrow, making a sustained shift toward yen appreciation difficult. Reports said that differences in monetary policy would continue to affect the yen exchange rate for the time being.