Japan will watch currency movements carefully as exchange rate stability is important, a top government official said on Wednesday, after the yen hit a four-year low against the dollar.
The dollar has gained 4.6% against the yen since its latest low hit in mid-September, amid growing bets that the United States will soon start unwinding pandemic-era policy, while Japan looks poised to keep interest rates low for some time.
The dollar earlier climbed as high as 114.585 yen for the first time since November 2017.
But he declined to comment on specific levels.
Japanese policymakers typically favour a weak yen, as it gives exports a competitive advantage overseas.
· China's yuan touches firmest point since June after strong fixing
China's yuan briefly rose to its highest point against the U.S. dollar in more than four-and-a-half months on Wednesday after the central bank set a much stronger daily fixing for the currency.
But after touching a top of 6.3794 per dollar, its firmest since June 2, the yuan pulled back by midday on what traders said was corporate dollar demand following recent strong gains by the Chinese unit, while the dollar itself remained broadly steady.
· The dollar index — which measures the greenback versus six rivals, including the yen — was little changed at 93.822 from Tuesday, when it lost about 0.2% and dipped to the lowest this month at 93.501.
The euro was about flat at $1.16335 from Tuesday, when it jumped as high as $1.1670 for the first time since Sept. 29.
Sterling was little changed at $1.3793 after touching a one-month peak of $1.3834 in the previous session.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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