The Japanese yen has fallen to a new low against the US dollar since 1990, increasing intervention risks

On March 27th, the Japanese yen fell to its lowest level against the US dollar in about 34 years, due to expectations that the huge interest rate gap between Japan and the United States will still exist despite the Bank of Japan ending its negative interest rate policy. The sharp decline of the Japanese yen has increased the risk of intervention by the Japanese authorities. The Japanese yen fell 0.3% at one point to 151.97 yen per dollar, the weakest level since 1990. In September and October 2022, the Japanese authorities intervened in the market three times, spending about 9 trillion yen for the first time since 1998 to support the currency. Japan's top currency official, Makoto Kanda, issued the strictest warning in months this week regarding speculative behavior in the foreign exchange market.