Dollar Tumbles to around 155.50 Yen in N.Y.

New York/London, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–The dollar tumbled to around 155.50 yen in New York foreign exchange trading Thursday morning, hitting its lowest level since Aug. 3. Yen buying for dollars grew on the back of speculation that the Bank of Japan may accelerate the pace of interest rate increases, market sources said. The greenback came under selling also on the receding view that the U.S. Federal Reserve will implement an interest rate hike at an early time, according to the sources. At 9 a.m., the U.S. currency stood at 155.50-60 yen, down 3.14 yen from 5 p.m. Wednesday. Some market players expect the BOJ to increase interest rates at a faster pace than the current rate of about once every six months. In addition, there is speculation that the Japanese central bank may raise its policy rate by more than 0.25 percentage point. Meanwhile, Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, on Thursday cited “some signs of disinflation” in the United States and indicated that he may support holding the U.S. central bank’s policy rate target steady at its policy meeting this month if the price trend continues in the data due over the next two weeks. The dollar’s tumble in New York came after the currency fell below 156 yen in London trading earlier in the day reflecting speculation that Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund may increase its investments in yen-denominated domestic assets as well as the view on the possible acceleration in the pace of the BOJ’s rate hikes. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]