Yen sinks to 34-year low near 152 against US dollar

The yen briefly fell to a 34-year low to near the 152 line against the US dollar in Tokyo on March 27, as the yen was sold on expectations that the Bank of Japan will maintain its accommodative stance despite raising interest rates, Report informs referring to Kyodo News.

BOJ board member Naoki Tamura said earlier in the day that short-term interest rates would remain near zero for the time being, even though the central bank has taken a step toward normalizing its policy by ending negative interest rates last week.

Japan will respond "resolutely" to excessive weakness in the yen, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said after the currency fell to a 34-year low.

Suzuki told reporters that appropriate actions would be taken "without excluding any options" to cope with excessive moves in the currency market.

He also said that Japan will be closely monitoring developments in the market with a "high sense of urgency."

Investors have been selling the yen for the dollar amid wide rate differentials between Japan and the United States, as their central banks have been pursuing divergent ultraloose and tight monetary policies, respectively.

The US Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate on hold at a policy meeting earlier this month but is expected to carry out three rate cuts later this year.

The yen last depreciated to 151.94 against the dollar in October 2022, before Japanese authorities intervened in the foreign exchange market to prop up the sagging currency.