By Ronnie Harui and Renae Dyer
Foreign exchange markets are on edge, watching for potential government intervention as the Japanese yen reaches its weakest levels against the dollar in almost two years. But intervention alone is unlikely to be enough to change the yen's fate.
The dollar rose to 161.94 yen in European afternoon trade Thursday, its highest level since July 2024, risking action from authorities. A move above that high of 161.99 yen would take the exchange rate to its highest in nearly 40 years.
Top government officials in Japan have continued to signal an increasing willingness to intervene in the currency markets to prop up the yen as it tumbled. The latest weakness of the yen comes amid growing bets for the Federal Reserve to raise rates before year-end.
Japan's top government spokesman this week reaffirmed that officials would step in as needed to support the yen. "We stand ready to take appropriate action at any time, as necessary," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a news conference Tuesday.
