Finance1 min read

Japan's top currency diplomat renews volatility warning as yen nears key 160 level

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The Japanese yen faced intense downward pressure as the dollar touched 159.94 yen early Thursday, reaching its highest level in more than two months. In response, Atsushi Mimura stressed that recent foreign exchange fluctuations have been excessively rapid. He explicitly cautioned investors not to overlook this past summer's yen-buying interventions, which included a coordinated operation alongside the United States. Meanwhile, the dollar continues to gain strength as hot inflation data fuels expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes.

Key points

  • Japanese officials are actively preparing the market for potential intervention as the ye…: Japanese officials are actively preparing the market for potential intervention as the yen rapidly approaches the critical 160 threshold.
  • Persistently hot U.S. inflation data and hawkish Federal Reserve commentary continue to b…: Persistently hot U.S. inflation data and hawkish Federal Reserve commentary continue to bolster the dollar against the Japanese currency.
  • Prior collaborative currency operations with the United States demonstrate that authoriti…: Prior collaborative currency operations with the United States demonstrate that authorities remain willing to take direct action against excessive market volatility.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

TOKYO, Nov 12 : Japan's top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura on Thursday renewed his warning against excessive foreign exchange volatility, citing this summer's intervention as the yen again edged towards the key 160-per-dollar level.

"I won't comment on the current exchange-rate level, but I believe recent currency moves have been excessively rapid," Mimura, the vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters.

"It's still too early to forget what happened this summer," he added, in an apparent reference to Japan's yen-buying interventions in late July through early August, including one conducted jointly with the US.

The dollar rose to 159.94 against the Japanese yen early Thursday morning, hitting its strongest in over two months, buoyed by growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates after hot US inflation data and hawkish remarks from policymakers.

Finance