The yen slid to the upper 159 range against the dollar in early trading on the 12th, closing in on the 160 line, and the Finance Ministry's top currency official said the pace of the move was too fast, hinting at renewed yen-buying intervention.
The dollar fetched 159.73-75 yen at 9 a.m., 86 sen stronger than the previous day, the Mainichi Shimbun reported. The level was the weakest for the yen in about two months, since September 2.
Expectations of a US interest rate hike have grown on concern over persistent inflation. Traders focused on the widening interest rate gap between Japan and the United States and sold yen for dollars.
Warning from the Finance Ministry
Atsushi Mimura, the ministry's vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters at the ministry on the morning of the 12th that the recent move was too rapid.
“The moves of the past few days give a strong impression of being too fast.”Atsushi Mimura, vice finance minister for international affairs
He added that it was too early to forget the summer, a reference to the joint intervention with the United States carried out at the end of July. The remark signaled he could order yen-buying intervention again and was intended to keep the market in check.