The yen had returned almost half of the increase brought about by the joint intervention of the US and Japan before the end of this week, and market speculations about the authorities interfering with the foreign exchange market once again heated up. On Friday morning, the exchange rate of the yen against the US dollar was around 158.45, clearly weakening from the strong position of 155.23 hit on Monday. Just before Japan and the US jointly bought yen for the first time since 1998 last week, the US dollar once approached 164 against the yen, close to the extreme level of 40 years. “There is a high possibility of another intervention, especially as the dollar approaches 160 against the yen,” said OCBC Bank strategist Moh Siong Sim. However, he also pointed out, “If the intervention is to be effective, the Bank of Japan also needs to speed up the pace of interest rate hikes or create an environment conducive to the Federal Reserve's relaxation of monetary policy.”

The yen had returned almost half of the increase brought about by the joint intervention of the US and Japan before the end of this week, and market speculations about the authorities interfering again in the foreign exchange market heated up. On Friday morning, the exchange rate of the yen against the US dollar was around 158.45, clearly weakening from the strong position of 155.23 hit on Monday. Just before Japan and the US jointly bought yen for the first time since 1998 last week, the US dollar once approached 164 against the yen, close to the extreme level of 40 years. “There is a high possibility of another intervention, especially as the dollar approaches 160 against the yen,” said OCBC Bank strategist Moh Siong Sim. However, he also pointed out, “If the intervention is to be effective, the Bank of Japan also needs to speed up the pace of interest rate hikes or create an environment conducive to the Federal Reserve's relaxation of monetary policy.”