The rapid drop in the yen is likely to be met by some sort of attempt at verbal intervention from Japan's Ministry of Finance and/or the Bank of Japan and/or senior government officials.

These could come along at any time now, today, tomorrow, it won't take much to trigger them.

Along the lines of:

  • Important for FX to move stably reflecting the fundamentals
  • Will respond appropriately to FX moves if necessary
  • Won't rule out any options for response to FX moves Expect
  • Share mutual understanding with international authorities that excessive FX move undesirable

We had these sorts of verbal intervention comments in 2023 as the yen lost ground. While they may be more prevalent above USD/JPY 150 it's the speed of the yen move that'll trigger them, not necessarily levels.

usdyen verbal intervention warning 18 January 2024