Dollar Reaches 23-Month High of 161.81 Yen in N.Y.

New York, June 18 (Jiji Press)–The dollar rose as high as 161.81 yen at one point in New York trading on Thursday, the highest level since July 2024, amid growing expectations of an interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve later this year. But the greenback soon eased to around 161 yen as caution increased against yen-buying intervention in the foreign exchange market by the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan. At 5 p.m., the greenback stood at 161.32-42 yen, compared with 160.61-71 yen at the same time on Wednesday. As the U.S. market will be closed on Friday, caution over intervention is strong amid declining liquidity. “We’re paying attention to whether (Japanese) officials will make strong remarks to curb the yen’s weakness,” a Japanese bank official said. The U.S. Federal Reserve decided to keep its policy interest rate unchanged at a two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting through Wednesday. Still, the median policy rate forecast of participants shifted from expecting one rate cut this year in March to anticipating one rate hike. The dollar was bought against other major currencies on the back of expectations of higher U.S. interest rates. While the BOJ’s recent decision to raise its policy interest rate had already been factored in, the pace of future rate hikes by the Japanese central bank remains unclear, and selling of the yen continued, market sources said. In Tokyo currency trading on Friday, the dollar stood at 161.09-10 yen at 10 a.m., up from 160.60-60 yen at 5 p.m. on Thursday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]