Yen gives back nearly half its gains after US-Japan intervention
What's new: Traders now see another move as likely if dollar-yen nears 160, with the currency around 158.45 on Friday.
The yen weakened again on Friday, surrendering nearly half of the gains from last week’s joint US-Japan market intervention and reviving bets that authorities may step in again. The currency traded near 158.45 per US dollar after strengthening to 155.23 on Monday, having been close to 164 last week, a roughly four-decade low. Analysts said the pullback highlights how hard it is to reverse the yen’s broader slide without tighter Bank of Japan policy or a weaker dollar. Japan’s top currency official, Atsushi Mimura, said authorities would respond to foreign-exchange moves in coordination with monetary policy. A Bloomberg analysis indicated Japan likely spent about $34 billion on July 31 after an estimated $53 billion the previous day.