Yen Strengthens on Fresh Intervention Hints

2025-12-23 05:37 By Czyrill Jean Coloma 1 min. read

The Japanese yen strengthened to around 155 per dollar, extending gains from the previous session, buoyed by renewed signals of potential intervention from authorities.

Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Japan has a “free hand” in addressing excessive currency movements, marking the clearest indication yet that Tokyo could act to curb sharp fluctuations.

Her remarks followed comments from top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura, who emphasized that officials would take “appropriate” action against excessive exchange-rate volatility, reflecting concern over sharp, one-sided trends.

Externally, the yen also drew support from a broadly weakening greenback amid rising expectations of two Fed rate cuts next year.

Meanwhile, the government is expected to finalize the fiscal 2026 draft budget on Friday, with new debt issuance for fiscal 2026 anticipated to slightly surpass 28.6 trillion yen ($182 billion) sold during the current fiscal year.



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