Dollar Dives below 156 Yen in New York amid Intervention Worries

New York, Jan. 23 (Jiji Press)–The dollar plunged below 156 yen to hit one-month lows in New York trading on Friday as traders grew wary of a possible market intervention aimed at curbing the Japanese currency’s slide. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at 155.68-78 yen, down 2.69 yen from the same time on Thursday. The view spread in the market that the U.S. Federal Reserve followed the Bank of Japan in conducting rate checks, which sometimes precede currency market interventions, on the dollar-yen pair. Buying of the Japanese unit accelerated against the greenback on the back of speculation that Japan and the United States may launch a coordinated yen-buying, dollar-selling intervention. At a press conference following the BOJ’s two-day monetary policy meeting through Friday, Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Japanese central bank, stopped short of making specific comments regarding the timing of additional interest rate hikes. This led to increased selling pressure on the Japanese currency, with the dollar briefly climbing above 159 yen in Tokyo trading on the day. However, soon after the press conference ended, the dollar suddenly reversed course and fell sharply to levels below 157.50 yen. In Friday’s New York trading, the U.S. unit stood above 158 yen early in the morning. From around noon, however, dollar selling picked up against the yen, with the greenback sinking as low as 155.60 yen at one point. Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex, said he received information that the Federal Reserve had conducted a rate check– inquiring about exchange rate levels with financial institutions. The yen also strengthened against the euro in New York trading. The European currency stood at 184.23-33 yen at 5 p.m., down 1.95 yen from a day before. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]