Yen falls to 150 range vs. dollar, new 32-year low
Baku, October 20, AZERTAC
The yen breached the 150 line and hit a 32-year low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, according to Kyodo News.
Despite persistent speculation about a yen-buying intervention by Japanese authorities, the yen depreciated against the U.S. currency to a level unseen since August 1990.
The yen has been sold heavily against the dollar as the Federal Reserve has continued to hike interest rates aggressively to tame decades-high inflation in the United States, while the Bank of Japan has maintained an ultraloose monetary policy.
Continued expectations of a widening interest rate differential between the two economies have encouraged traders to buy the dollar.
The yen's volatility spurred Japanese authorities to intervene in the currency market last month for the first time in 24 years after the yen dropped into the 145 zone against the dollar, but the move provided only a short respite.
The value of the yen to the dollar has almost halved from its postwar high of 75.32 hit in 2011. While the dollar briefly plunged to the lower 140 yen range following Japan's intervention in the market on Sept. 22, the yen has since depreciated, causing the dollar to soar by nearly 10 yen in under a month.
Shortly after the yen slid beyond the psychologically important line of 150, the Japanese government ramped up its verbal warnings that it will take "decisive" steps against volatile movements in the foreign exchange market.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said he is focusing on volatility, adding that the government will be "meticulously" watching movements in the currency market with vigilance.
Rapid, excessive yen moves, driven by speculators, are "intolerable," he told reporters.
