From mint · · 1m 40s
Yen nears 160 threshold, intervention risk grows
Yen slides to 159.94, sparking fears of Tokyo intervention.
In brief
Yen slides to 159.94, sparking fears of Tokyo intervention. The yen fell to 159.94, raising concerns that Japanese policymakers may intervene to defend the currency against falling below 160. Originally reported by mint.
Yen slides to 159.94
The yen slid to the verge of 160 to the dollar, a key threshold that’s raising the specter that policymakers in Tokyo will swoop in again to defend the currency.
Third straight daily decline
As rising US bond yields pushed the dollar higher, the yen slipped 0.1% to 159.94.It marked the third straight daily decline as traders brace for the Federal Reserve to step up its interest rate hikes.
Atsushi Mimura warns of rapid moves
Japan’s chief currency official Atsushi Mimura on Thursday said he has a strong impression that the currency moves over the past few days have been “too fast” and reminded investors of the currency-market intervention a…
Win Thin comments on 160 threshold
“Mimura seems to be sending a signal that 160 is some sort of line in the sand, which is always risky since markets never met a line in the sand that they didn’t want to…
Interest rate gap drives yen weakness
The currency weakness reflects the significant gap in interest rates between the US and Japan, with the Bank of Japan’s benchmark set at 1.25%, more than 2.5 percentage points below the Fed’s.
Intervention risks escalate
While government officials have emphasized it’s the speed and disorderliness of currency moves rather than any specific level that triggers intervention, a breach of 160 could test their tolerance.
The short version
The yen fell to 159.94, raising concerns that Japanese policymakers may intervene to defend the currency against falling below 160.
