©Reuters. The yen exceeds 139 units per dollar for the first time in 24 years
Tokyo, Sep 1 (.).- The yen exceeded this Thursday the barrier of 139 units per dollar in the foreign exchange market for the first time in 24 years, due to growing speculation about a further widening of the difference in reference rates between Japan and the United States.
The greenback was trading around 139.55 yen at the start of trading in Tokyo, levels not seen by the Japanese currency since September 1998.
This new depreciation of the yen, which has been registering a progressive lowering of prices this year that has generated concern in the country, occurs after a member of the US central bank indicated in previous hours that the entity should raise interest rates more aggressively next year.
These comments are in line with the position shown last week by the president of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, who predicted more interest rate hikes and their maintenance at high levels until inflation is controlled.
The acceleration of the current price increase fuels expectations of more aggressive rate hikes by the Fed, which tends to reinforce the position of the dollar as a safe-haven asset.
The recent devaluation of the yen is attributed to the growing gap between the monetary policies of the Fed and the European Central Bank on the one hand, and those of the Japanese central bank on the other, due to the entity of the world’s third largest economy remaining firm in its broad stimulus strategy that includes ultra-low rates.
A weak yen benefits the turnover abroad of Japanese companies, which see their remittances inflated when they are repatriated and improves the competitiveness of their products, but it also has a negative impact on the national accounts by making imports more expensive in a country highly dependent on them.
The depreciation of the yen was greeted with concern by investors in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which accelerated its decline at the open today after the further depreciation of the yen.
After the first hour of trading, the benchmark index fell 1.52% or 426.83 points, and stood at 27,664.70 integers.
The broader index, which includes the companies in the main section, dropped 1.31% or 25.76 points, and stood at 1,937.40 units.