$157 Rangebound: Dollar-Yen Stalls on Coordinated Intervention
The dollar-yen exchange rate stalled in the lower 157 range on February 29th in Tokyo's foreign exchange market, largely unchanged from late New York trading the previous day. While high crude oil prices and expectations of an early US rate hike supported the dollar, a coordinated stance between Japanese and US authorities to correct yen weakness capped its upside.
Market participants remain cautious ahead of key indicators such as the BOJ Tankan survey and US economic data releases from this week into next. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama's comments on maintaining close communication with US authorities and working towards orderly foreign exchange markets triggered a brief decline in the dollar, which touched an intraday low of 157.20 yen.
Rinto Maruyama, senior rates and FX strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities, noted that coordinated intervention would come into focus if yen weakness accelerates, but until then the market will likely probe direction with 158-159 yen as the ceiling.