Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–The dollar tumbled below 156 yen in foreign exchange trading Thursday evening Japan time, amid speculation that Tokyo intervened into the market to correct the yen’s weakening. On Thursday afternoon, when the dollar was trading above 160 yen, Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama told reporters that the time for the country to take “decisive action” against the yen’s rapid depreciation is “approaching.” Echoing Katayama, Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Atsushi Mimura separately told reporters, “Our (avowed) decisive action is just around the corner.” Warning against recent speculative trading on the currency market, he said, “This is our final advisory for (market players) to withdraw (from such activities).” On the possibility of Japan launching a currency intervention jointly with the United States, Mimura said, “We’ve been working very closely and keeping in contact with the United States.” Following the series of remarks by the Japanese finance officials, the dollar plummeted below 156 yen in overseas currency trading. In Tokyo, the dollar stood at 160.14-15 yen at 5 p.m. Thursday. In addition, Mimura did not deny the possibility of Japan stepping into the crude oil futures market, saying, “Our focus is on all directions.” On the dollar’s tumble in overseas markets, one source said, “Speculative traders may have rushed to buy yen following the warnings (by the Japanese officials).” Meanwhile, another market source said that the possibility of Japanese authorities having stepped into the market to buy yen for dollars “cannot be ruled out.” In late March, when the dollar climbed above 160 yen, Mimura said that Japan “would soon need” to implement “decisive measures.” Currency market players believe that the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan have set their defense line at levels over 160 yen that prompted the Japanese authorities to conduct yen-buying, dollar-selling interventions in 2024. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Dollar Tumbles below 156 Yen amid Speculation of Intervention
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