Dollar Briefly Tops 155 Yen after Takaichi Cites Weak Yen’s Benefits

Tokyo, Feb. 2 (Jiji Press)–The dollar temporarily rose above 155 yen in Tokyo trading on Monday, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi mentioned the benefits of the yen’s current weakness in a campaign speech over the weekend. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at 154.88-89 yen, up from 153.79-81 yen at 5 p.m. on Friday. The euro was at 1.1855-1855 dollars, down from 1.1938-1939 dollars, and at 183.61-62 yen, up slightly from 183.57-61 yen. “This is a huge opportunity for exporting industries,” Takaichi said of the weak yen in the speech. She added that the weak yen is also helpful to the government’s foreign exchange special account. The greenback also attracted buying interest after U.S. President Donald Trump picked former Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh as the Fed’s next chair. “Compared with other candidates, Warsh has been seen as more cautious about rate cuts,” said an official at a currency brokerage firm. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the weak yen temporarily propelled the key Nikkei 225 average by over 900 points in the morning. However, the key index lost over 600 points in the afternoon, due to profit-taking selling. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]