The Japanese yen hovered around 161 per dollar on Friday, following a nearly 1% surge in the previous session, after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama reaffirmed that authorities are prepared to intervene at any time to support the currency. Her remarks came amid intensifying speculation about another round of official action, with the thin liquidity expected over the US holiday weekend seen as creating favorable conditions for intervention.
Katayama also noted that Japan and the United States remain in close contact on foreign exchange policy. On Thursday, the yen rebounded sharply from its lowest levels in roughly 40 years after reports indicated that Japanese authorities may stop telegraphing potential interventions in advance—a shift that wrong-footed traders and helped trigger a reversal of speculative short positions against the yen. The currency also gained support from a weaker US dollar, after softer-than-expected US employment data led markets to pare back expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes this year.
