Japan Warns as Yen Hits 160 per Dollar, Erasing 11.7 Trillion Yen Intervention Gains
Updated
Updated · Reuters · Jun 3
Japan Warns as Yen Hits 160 per Dollar, Erasing 11.7 Trillion Yen Intervention Gains
3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Jun 3
Summary
160 per dollar returned as the yen hit its weakest level since April 30, wiping out gains from Tokyo's record support operations and triggering fresh official warnings.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said authorities were ready to respond, blaming speculative trading rather than real demand for the currency's slide.
A small, sharp rebound in the yen rattled traders and fueled talk of a rate check or fresh intervention, though the Finance Ministry declined to comment on any market action.
11.7 trillion yen, or $73.14 billion, was spent since April in Japan's biggest one-month intervention round, yet the currency has kept weakening as oil-import costs rise and BOJ tightening remains cautious.
160 has become Tokyo's key line in the sand, with analysts saying intervention odds rise sharply near that level and even more if dollar-yen reaches 162.