The yen blew through the ?161-to-the-dollar mark overnight and approached levels not seen since the 80s, though it pulled back just short of notching a multi-decade record.
¡°When we act, we will act decisively,¡± Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Friday after the Japanese currency swooned dramatically at about 3 p.m. Thursday in New York and hit ?161.80 to the dollar.
In July 2024, the government intervened when the currency traded at ?161.95 to the dollar. If the yen moves beyond that level, it would be its weakest since December 1986.??
By late morning Friday, it had strengthened to about ?160.2 to the dollar.??
Although the yen is back near levels that triggered intervention in April and May, verbal warnings from the minister on Friday were less threatening than those ahead of the intervention earlier this year.??
¡°The time to take the decisive action that I have been warning about is nearing,¡± she said in late April just before the government propped up the yen.
The Finance Ministry spent a total of ?11.73 trillion ($73 billion) to support the yen from April 28 to May 27. On April 30, the currency rapidly strengthened into the ?155 range after crossing the ?160 mark earlier in the day.
Analysts and investors have started to factor in the possibility of a rate hike?in the United States, and this is adding to the pressure on the yen, as are May inflation numbers in Japan, which came in slightly below forecasts.
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