Japanese yen weakens past 160 per dollar

The Japanese yen weakened past the psychologically key 160-per-dollar threshold on Friday, touching its lowest level since early September after coming under sustained selling pressure throughout the week.

The slide prompted Japanese authorities to issue warnings of potential foreign exchange market intervention.

Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama stated that Japanese officials would maintain close coordination with their US counterparts and take appropriate measures if necessary to address excessive and rapid movements in the currency market.

Japan’s top currency diplomat, Atsushi Mimura, also warned investors not to disregard the events of last summer, when Japanese and US authorities jointly intervened in the market to support the yen.

The currency’s latest decline was largely driven by broad-based US dollar strength amid growing expectations of more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, following stronger-than-expected US inflation data and increasingly hawkish remarks from Fed officials.