TOKYO: The yen climbed for a third day against the dollar as an adviser to Japan’s prime minister added his voice to the chorus warning that the currency has weakened far enough.
An exchange rate
of 105 per dollar would be “appropriate,” Koichi Hamada, a consultant to Shinzo Abe on economic policy, said in an interview with Bloomberg Tuesday, echoing comments he made on BS Fuji television Monday evening in Tokyo. He told Bloomberg he doesn’t think the yen will fall much further, and 125 per dollar wouldn’t be justified. Hamada said in the television interview that there’s “no need to force” inflation to the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent target.
“The fact he specified the 105 level got a reaction from the market,” said Yuji Saito, director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole SA in Tokyo, referring to Hamada. “His comments on the inflation target chipped away at any expectations for additional easing this month, mainly among foreign investors, adding some pressure for yen buying.”
The yen strengthened as much as 0.3 percent to 119.74 per dollar from Monday, before trading at 119.92 at 6:01 a.m. in London. It gained as much as 0.4 percent to 126.50 per euro, the strongest since June 2013.
