From concerns over currency intervention by the government and the Bank of Japan, the USD/JPY fell to the 157 yen level.

【1/16Market Overview

During Tokyo time, Finance Minister Kotaro Katayama stated that he would take firm actions “including all available means,” and that “foreign exchange intervention is included in the agreement between Japan and the United States,” which led to a selling reaction in USD/JPY. It briefly fell below the previous low of158.23yen to157.95yen. However, the downside view for the yen remained entrenched, and it was bought back to158.40yen. In European session, with successive warnings from Japanese authorities about yen weakness, there was a risk of government/BOJ intervention, leading to yen buying and dollar selling. With the weekend ahead and a US holiday, position-adjustment selling also surfaced, and USD/JPY fell briefly to157.82yen. In New York time, President Trump said that he would like to see the Chair of the National Economic Council (NEC) continue in his current role; suggesting that the Fed Chair designation to Harrods (Hasset) might not be possible, prompting a dollar-buying response to158.26yen.

【1/19Market View