powerballprizemoney| It's numb! The yen once fell below 158 against the US dollar, hitting a 34-year low

After the Bank of Japan said it would maintain a loose monetary policyPowerballprizemoneyThe yen fell to a 34-year low against the dollar, fuelling speculation that the Japanese authorities might soon step in to stem the yen's decline.

On the same day, the yen fell 1 per cent against the US dollar.Powerballprizemoney.8%, hitting an intraday low of $158.33, the decline intensified in late trading in New York. The yen began to fall earlier in the day after the Bank of Japan said at a policy meeting that it would keep its key interest rate unchanged and Governor Kazuo Ueda made few remarks in support of the yen at a news conference.

Data released in the United States on Friday showed that the core PCE material index was basically in line with expectations, easing concerns that persistent price pressures might delay the Fed's rate cut. Even so, the decline in the yen has intensified since then.

Traders increased their short positions in the yen ahead of the BoJ meeting. As of Tuesday, hedge funds and managers had a record 184180 bets on yen weakness, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2006.

The yen has fallen nearly 11 per cent against the dollar so far this year, making it the worst performer among the G10 currencies. The main driver of the devaluation is the huge gap in interest rates between the US and Japan, which soared to their highest level in decades after the Fed's aggressive tightening cycle last year, while Japan's borrowing costs remain stubbornly close to zero.

"it's incredibly weak," said Justin Onuecussi, chief investment officer of St. James's Square Management (StJames Place Management). This degree of weakness is bound to cause concern. The yen has gone too far and we tend to oppose this trend. "

Policymakers have repeatedly warned that depreciation will not be tolerated if it depreciates too fast and too much. Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi reiterated after the Bank of Japan meeting that the government will respond appropriately to foreign exchange trends.

After the announcement of the BoJ's decision, the Topix stock index rose 0.9%, including gains for real estate companies. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note fell to 0.25% from 0.93% earlier in the day.

Charu Chanana, strategist at Saxo Capital Markets Capital Markets, said: "the BoJ has proved once again that it can be unexpectedly dove, not even the most dovish expectations on Wall Street." "We are again waiting for intervention to prevent the yen from collapsing. But without co-ordination and hawkish policy information, any intervention will be futile. "

In a tripartite statement last week, the United States, Japan and South Korea said they would continue close consultations on the development of foreign exchange markets, while acknowledging serious concerns about the recent sharp devaluation of their currencies.

The exchange rate of 157.60 yen against the dollar is a key level worth watching, according to Masato Kanda, the top monetary official of Japan's Ministry of Finance. Japan's Ministry of Finance will release intervention data for the period from March 28 to April 25 on April 30, while data, including today, will be released on May 31.

Other potential triggers are Japanese public holidays next Monday and Friday, which could pose a risk of volatility against a backdrop of light trading.

Hirofumi Suzuki, chief currency strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui, said: "if the yen falls further from here, as was the case after the Bank of Japan's decision in September 2022, the likelihood of central bank intervention will increase." "it is not the magnitude but the speed that triggers the intervention."

In September 2022, Japan intervened to buy yen for the first time since 1998, when the yen fell after dovish comments by Haruhiko Kuroda, then governor of the Bank of Japan, after a policy decision. As of October of that year, the Japanese authorities had intervened in the market three times, costing more than 9 trillion yen ($57 billion).