The yen traded at its weakest level in about 23 months on Thursday and is now well into the range considered by many investors to be a trigger for intervention.
Japan¡¯s currency hit ?160.79 to the dollar, breaking the ?160.72 mark reached in April and changing hands at prices not seen since July 2024.
Based on comments from officials and the history of intervention, the market has been viewing ?160 to the dollar as a red line for the authorities to come in and prop up the yen.??
¡°We will take appropriate action as needed at any time,¡± Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said during a news conference on Thursday.
The weakening of the yen comes even after the Bank of Japan took rates to 1%, the highest level since 1995. Overnight, the U.S. Federal Reserve held rates steady but sent signals viewed by some investors as hawkish.??
The Nikkei 225 stock average hit a record on Thursday morning. It broke 71,000 for the first time ever and reached a new high of 71,398.58 at 10:14 a.m. It was driven higher by buying of semiconductor-related shares backed by overnight gains of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
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