Tokyo, June 30 (Jiji Press)--The dollar rose above 162 yen in Tokyo trading on Tuesday, hitting the highest level since December 1986. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at 162.24-25 yen, up from 161.81-82 yen at 5 p.m. Monday. The dollar carried over its strength from overnight New York trading, where it rose as high as 161.98 yen amid growing anticipation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by the end of this year. Although the Bank of Japan decided to raise its policy interest rate at its monetary policy meeting earlier in June, the pace of its further rate hikes remains uncertain. Due to this, many market participants believe the interest rate gap between Japan and the United States will remain wide for the time being, prompting dollar buying and yen selling. Also, speculation has emerged that the government will keep the BOJ's additional rate hikes in check in its upcoming economic and fiscal management and reform policy. Market players were also wary of a possible deterioration in Japan's fiscal condition due to factors such as an envisaged consumption tax cut by the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. "As the weaker yen and stronger dollar reflect economic fundamentals, a currency market intervention by the Japanese government and the BOJ won't reverse the trend," an official of an asset management company said. Touching on the yen's depreciation, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said, "We'll take appropriate action at any given time, if necessary." She added that her recent online meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has confirmed that such action could include "decisive measures." On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 594.21 points, or 0.85 pct, to end Tuesday's session at 70,062.32, partly reflecting buying on the back of the weaker yen. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]