The yen rapidly rebounded against the U.S. dollar in New York on Wednesday, briefly touching 153.00 after the U.S. Federal Reserve released the outcome of its latest policy-setting meeting.
A New York-based official at a Japanese bank said the sudden advance of the yen from the upper 157 range earlier in the day may have been the result of additional market intervention by Japanese authorities following action earlier this week.
Japan is suspected of having conducted a yen-buying, dollar-selling market intervention Monday after the yen tumbled below the 160 line, though the government has not confirmed it. Data provided by the Bank of Japan and market sources suggested around 5 trillion yen ($32 billion) may have been spent on the intervention.
After being quoted at 157.88-90 against the dollar late Wednesday in Tokyo, the Japanese currency hovered in the upper 157 range in the morning in New York.
But it suddenly began to rise by more than 4 yen, passing the 154 line, in the late afternoon, after the U.S. central bank said it was holding its benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25-5.50 percent and hinted that borrowing costs will remain at about the same level for a longer period than expected.
The yen then fell below the 154 line again and was quoted at 154.55-65 per dollar at 5 p.m. in New York.
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