The Japanese yen fell to the critical 160 level against the dollar today, the fourth day, as the yen fell to this level in early Asian trading today, a level that is closely monitored and at which the authorities have intervened in the past. This erased the gains made following Tokyo’s intervention by pumping 11.7 trillion yen ($73.14 billion) a month ago to support the faltering Japanese currency. The dollar rose 0.04 percent to 159.98 yen. “The upward pressure on crude oil prices facilitates increased yen selling pressure,” said Hirofumi Suzuki, senior foreign exchange analyst at SMBC. He added, “In my opinion, the ‘red line’ may not be an accurate level, but the 160-161 yen to the dollar area is likely to be monitored,” referring to the possibility of additional intervention.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said today that the authorities are ready to act appropriately regarding the foreign exchange market.
In the broader market, currencies remained trading within narrow ranges. The euro fell 0.09 percent to $1.1621, while the British pound fell 0.07 percent to $1.3455. Data released yesterday showed that inflation in the euro zone accelerated further last month, driven by rising prices in the energy and services sectors, which strengthened the already strong case for the European Central Bank to raise interest rates this month.
Data released yesterday showed that job vacancies in the United States recorded their largest increase in five years during April, although this increase may overestimate the health of the labor market.
Private sector payrolls figures are due later in the day, ahead of the key non-farm payrolls report on Friday. “The US labor market is improving after the weakness experienced in 2025,” said Christina Clifton, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. “Combined with higher inflation, we expect the Federal Reserve to begin an interest rate tightening cycle in December 2026.” Markets expect the US central bank to raise interest rates by about 18 basis points by December. The Australian dollar fell 0.05 percent to $0.7177, and the New Zealand dollar fell 0.03 percent to $0.5924.
As for cryptocurrencies, the price of Bitcoin fell to its lowest level in two months, and fell in the latest trading by 0.75 percent to $66,985.26, and the price of Ethereum likewise reached its lowest level in three months, and recorded in the latest trading $1,869.33.
