©Reuters. The yen continues its fall against the dollar and the greenback exceeds 129 yen
Tokyo, Apr 20 (.).- The Japanese yen continued its fall against the dollar on Wednesday and the greenback exceeded 129 yen in the first hour, its lowest level since April 2002, given the prospect of an increase in the gap in interest rates.
The dollar moved around 129.30 yen after the first hour of trading on the Tokyo stock market, above the lower and upper range between which it oscillated at the close of operations both in the Japanese market and in the New York on the previous day.
The continued devaluation of the Japanese currency has accelerated so far this week, reaching its lowest level against the dollar since April 2002 this morning.
Analysts attribute this downward trend in the yen to the extensive monetary easing strategy that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has maintained since 2013, and which increasingly contrasts with the rate hike policies announced by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and those prepared by the European Central Bank (ECB), placing the Japanese currency at lows for years, also with the euro.
The community currency was exchanged between the low band and the average of 139 yen today, one unit more than the day before.
The yen’s slide, which has brought volatility to the Tokyo stock market in recent days, was welcomed by investors today. After the first hour of trading, the reference selective rose 1.46% and the broader index, which groups the companies with the largest capitalization, added 1.57%.
This trend of depreciation of the Japanese currency helps boost foreign remittances from domestic companies and their competitiveness abroad, but also has a negative impact on imports of energy goods or raw materials.
The speed of the devaluation of the yen has caused concern among financial authorities and triggered cautious comments from the BoJ itself, shortly before the lender holds its next meeting on monetary policy next week, which has generated expectations about its outcome.