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Japanese Finance Ministry data confirmed on Friday that there was no foreign exchange market intervention during the period from Dec. 29 to Wednesday.
During the period, the dollar fell from above ¥159 to around ¥157 on the afternoon of Jan. 23, and from over ¥158 to below ¥156 early the following day.
Market players had suspected that the sharp declines in the dollar were caused by yen-buying market intervention by authorities. They now believe that Japanese and U.S. authorities instead conducted so-called rate checks, a precursor to intervention, at the time.
The dollar later dropped to as low as below ¥153 amid fears of coordinated market intervention by Japanese and U.S. authorities.
On Monday, Atsushi Mimura, Japan’s vice minister of finance for international affairs, told reporters that he would not clarify whether a rate check had been conducted. “We will respond appropriately while closely cooperating with U.S. authorities if necessary,” he added. (Jiji Press)
