Japanese yen tests 160 again, drawing intervention threats

 The Japanese yen weakened on Friday and was within spitting distance of trading at 160 yen to the dollar, drawing more threats of intervention from Tokyo. 

The yen’s USD/JPY pair– which measures the number of yen needed to buy one dollar– rose 0.06% to 159.94 yen, and had briefly crossed 160 yen on Thursday. 

In response, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Friday warned against “one-sided” moves in foreign exchange markets, and vowed to “respond appropriately,” according to comments carried by Reuters. 

Katayama’s comments follow similar remarks by top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura on Thursday, who said it was “too early to forget” intervention earlier this year. 

The yen’s overnight drop saw it cross 160 for the first time since early-September. The currency’s previous breach of the level had sparked an unprecedented, joint intervention by Tokyo and Washington that saw the USDJPY pair fall as low as 150 yen. 

The yen was battered by a stronger dollar this week, amid increasing bets that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in December. This pointed to a continued, wide gulf between U.S. and Japanese rates, even as the Bank of Japan opened the door to more rate hikes in the coming months. 

The BOJ is also expected to raise rates in December, after it effectively declared victory against deflation during its October meeting.