The yen advanced by 3 per cent on Thursday after an apparent steady stream of official buying pushed the dollar to a low of 155.5 yen from nearly 158.3 over the course of about an hour
The yen suddenly climbed against the dollar on Friday, a day after Tokyo authorities were widely believed to have intervened to prop up the currency.
The dollar dropped by as much as 0.66 per cent to a session low of 155.60 from 157.12 earlier.
The yen advanced by as much as 3 per cent on Thursday after an apparent steady stream of official buying pushed the dollar to a low of 155.5 yen from nearly 158.3 over the course of about an hour, which was reportedly an intervention by Japanese officials.
It was not clear what was behind Friday’s move, but analysts said after Thursday the market would be on edge for any sudden moves in the currency.
Japan’s top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura said earlier on Friday that speculation remained rife, a blunt warning that officials were ready to step back into markets after intervening just hours earlier to support the yen, which has shed 5 per cent in the last three months alone.
Liquidity is thin and people are nervous after yesterday so there is a susceptibility to volatility in the dollar/yen, said Jeremy Stretch, head of G10 FX strategy, CIBC Capital Markets.
Every time we see a substantial move in the yen there will be questioning about what is driving this given the warnings we have had, he said.
The wide gap between U.S. and Japanese interest rates, together with an expected decline in trading volumes ahead of a holiday stretch have made officials wary of aggressive speculative attacks.

Precise Investors Editorial Team

Comments (0)
Average Rating: No ratings yet/5 (0 reviews)
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!