Yen surges in New York on BOJ rate hike speculations
The Japanese yen strengthened sharply against the U.S. dollar in New York trading, rising more than 3 yen amid expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) may raise interest rates at its mid-September policy meeting, Qazinform News Agency learnt from Kyodo.
At 5 p.m. New York time, the dollar was traded at 155.75–85 yen, down 2.89 yen from Wednesday.
In Tokyo earlier that day, the dollar stood at 157.03–06 yen.
Traders noted no signs of government intervention, attributing the move to speculation about narrowing interest rate differentials between Japan and the U.S.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda has signaled readiness to lift rates depending on economic and price conditions.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for a review of accommodative monetary conditions after the G20 finance ministers’ meeting.
It was earlier reported, Japan spent record 6.28 trillion yen in currency market intervention on April 30.