LONDON: The U.S. dollar fell to the upper 119 yen zone Tuesday morning in Tokyo, weighed down by remarks by an economic adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that indicated wariness over the yen’s weakness.
At noon, the dollar fetched 119.86-93 yen compared with 120.08-18 yen in New York and 120.63-64 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Monday.
The euro was quoted at $1.0577-0578 and 126.78-79 yen against $1.0560-0570 and 126.90-127.00 yen in New York and $1.0564-0565 and 127.44-48 yen in Tokyo late Tuesday afternoon.
The dollar inherited its weak tone set in overseas trading on Monday after Koichi Hamada, Abe’s special adviser on economic affairs and a professor emeritus at Yale University, suggested on an evening TV program the yen was excessively weak against the dollar, referring to the current level at around 120 to the U.S. unit.
The dollar that had risen to 120.84 yen briefly weakened to around 119.68 yen in the wake of Hamada’s comments in overseas trading Monday, dealers said. It traded in the lower 120 yen range in early Tokyo time Tuesday.
