America News Agency

The Japanese currency fell 0.3 percent to ¥151.97 per dollar in Tokyo, crossing the ¥151.95 level set in October 2022, after a hawkish Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member said financial conditions would remain accommodative.

The yen later pared losses after Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said the Japanese government would take bold steps on the currency if necessary.

"Given recent history, a breach of 152 Yen could trigger intervention," said Rodrigo Catril, senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney. "The break of the previous high accelerated the move," Catril said, referring to the dollar-yen exchange rate.

Investors expect interest rate differentials between Japan and other advanced economies, particularly the US, to remain wide even after the BOJ ends the world's last negative interest rate regime. That is undermining the yen as investors favor higher-yielding currencies elsewhere.

Options traders are watching the dollar-yen pair because a rise to 152 yen would trigger some knockout barrier at this level, according to traders. Traders said the currency pair could extend gains as investors holding inverse call options would need to cover large short dollar-yen positions if the barrier is breached.

Masato Kanda, deputy finance minister for international affairs, said on Monday that the current weakness in the yen was not in line with fundamentals. "We will take appropriate measures against excessive fluctuations without ruling out any option," he told reporters.

Japan entered the market three times in September and October to support the yen, spending over ¥9 trillion ($59.3 billion) in 2022. The first intervention came when the yen was much stronger than its current level.