The yen traded at its weakest level in about 23 months on Thursday and is now well into the range considered by many investors to be a trigger for intervention.
Japan¡¯s currency hit ?160.79 to the dollar overnight, breaking the ?160.72 mark reached in April and changing hands at prices not seen since July 2024.
Based on comments from officials and the history of intervention, the market has been viewing ?160 to the dollar as a red line for the authorities to come in and prop up the yen.
From late April through May, Japan¡¯s Finance Ministry spent a total of ?11.73 trillion ($73 billion) to support the yen after it broke through ?160 to the dollar.
¡°We will take appropriate action as needed at any time,¡± Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said during a news conference on Thursday.
The weakening of the yen comes even after the Bank of Japan took rates to 1%, the highest level since 1995, on Tuesday. It was the first rate increase since the end of 2025.
The BOJ¡¯s move did little to boost the yen, as the market had already fully priced in the decision, according to analysts. BOJ Deputy Gov. Shinichi Uchida also refrained from providing guidance regarding the pace of future rate increases.
¡°Regarding the Deputy Gov. Uchida¡¯s news conference, it¡¯s fair to say that he was trying his best to maintain a neutral stance,¡± said Noriatsu Tanji, chief bond strategist at Mizuho Securities.?
Overnight, the U.S. Federal Reserve held rates steady but sent signals viewed by some investors as hawkish.
The Nikkei 225 stock average hit a record on Thursday morning. It broke 71,000 for the first time and reached a new high of 71,398.58 at 10:14 a.m. The index closed at 71,053.49, up by 1.65%.?
It was driven higher by buying of semiconductor-related shares backed by overnight gains of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Tokyo Electron, a chip equipment manufacturer, rose 4.7%, and Ibiden, a supplier of IC package substrates, jumped more than 7%. Murata Manufacturing rose more than 8%.?
The yen was trading at about ?160.6 by the end of the business day in Tokyo on Thursday.?
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