Japan’s Yen Suffers Massive Fall Against US Dollar

The official currency of Japan, Yen, has suffered a massive fall against the United States (US) Dollar.

Naija News understands that Yen fell nearly a per cent to 153.24 against the US Dollar on Wednesday, recording the lowest and weakest level since 1990.

Despite repeated verbal cautions from Japanese officials regarding their commitment to bolstering the Yen against speculative activities in the market, the currency persisted in depreciating alongside the strengthening dollar.

According to The Cable, a foreign exchange trader at Monex, Helen Given, stressed the need for a prompt and appropriate response to prevent further declines.

Meanwhile, a portfolio manager at BNP Paribas Asset Management, Peter Vassallo, acknowledged that intervention remains a potential course of action.

“It’s clearly a US dollar move, and Japanese officials can’t really argue its speculators are attacking the yen, but intervention remains a possibility.

“They have been making a lot of verbal noise around intervention, so there may be an element of saving face and wanting to intervene on that basis,”  Vassallo said.

Japan’s finance minister, Shunichi Suzuki, expressed his vigilance toward the market and emphasized his willingness to take necessary measures to tackle any excessive fluctuations.

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, reportedly cautioned against the yen’s decline during a meeting with US President Joe Biden and assured that appropriate actions would be taken.

In 2022, Tokyo authorities allocated ¥9.2 trillion (approximately $60 billion) on three separate occasions to provide support for the yen.

The yen has recently faced renewed downward pressure following the Bank of Japan’s decision to discontinue its negative interest rate policy in March.