Yen rises sharply to 155 level against U.S. dollar after intervention rumor

TOKYO — The yen rose sharply on Friday, briefly reaching the mid-155 level from the lower 157 range, amid a cautious mood a day after an around 5 yen surge overnight on possible intervention.

At 4 p.m., the dollar fetched 155.91-92 yen, compared with 156.58-68 yen in New York and 160.13-15 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Japan's top currency diplomat, Atsushi Mimura, on Friday declined to comment on the foreign exchange market intervention, saying, "I have no intention to comment on such matters." On Thursday, the Japanese currency surged nearly 5 yen to the 155 zone against the dollar within hours.

The government is believed to have judged speculative moves are heightening in the foreign exchange market. The Japanese currency surged nearly 5 yen to the 155 zone against the dollar within hours on Thursday.

After the yen weakened to 160.72 in Tokyo trading Thursday, its lowest level since July 2024, amid the Middle East crisis, the government likely intervened given the risk of further yen selling during thin trading in the Golden Week holiday period through next week in Japan, market watchers said.

Ahead of the yen's rapid appreciation, the vice finance minister for international affairs joined Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama in stepping up warnings of "decisive action" to halt the yen's slide.

"The time for decisive action, which I have previously mentioned, is finally getting closer," Katayama said Thursday, while Mimura called his warning against speculative movements "the final evacuation advisory."

The dollar has continued to draw buying as a safer asset since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Elevated crude oil prices due to the effective blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway traversed by many oil tankers, have also led to buying of the U.S. unit.

Japan last intervened in the currency market in July 2024, spending a total of 5.53 trillion yen ($35 billion) to support the currency after it had weakened to an around 38-year low against the dollar near the 162 line.

It also spent a record 9.79 trillion yen between April and May of the same year to slow the yen's rapid fall against the dollar.

Commenting on Thursday's intervention by the Japanese authorities, a spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department said that it is in close communication with Japan's Finance Ministry.

Regarding responses to foreign exchange movements, Katayama and Mimura have said they are closely coordinating with the United States based on the joint statement released in September, when the two countries confirmed intervention should be reserved for combating volatility as well as "disorderly depreciation or appreciation."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also noted "the inherent undesirability of excess exchange rate volatility" and emphasized the need for sound formulation and communication of monetary policy when he met Katayama in Washington in January, according to the department.

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