The Japanese yen is declining against the US dollar on Wednesday. The current USDJPY exchange rate stands at 157.24.
The instrument is currently at a four-week high. The yen has returned to the levels observed before Tokyo intervened to support the national currency in late April and early May.
On 29 April, the US dollar reached a 34-year peak of 160.24 yen, prompting at least two currency interventions by the Japanese monetary authorities. According to various estimates, about nine trillion yen or more (57.21 billion USD) was spent to support the weak yen. The JPY exchange rate stabilised and recouped some losses, but not for long.
The Japanese monetary authorities continue to make verbal interventions, which have no impact on the market. As the market suggests, without real actions, the dollar-yen exchange rate will rapidly return to levels preceding the intervention.
The Bank of Japan may expect an interest rate hike if a sharp weakening of the yen rate leads to inflationary growth.