The yen snapped a five-day losing streak on Friday after Japan's finance minister revealed that President Trump had pressed Tokyo over the currency's weakness. The dollar, meanwhile, paused a four-session run to a nearly two-month high as bond-market turmoil and hawkish Fed bets kept it broadly supported for the week.
The Japanese yen jumped as much as 156.94 against the dollar on Friday, last trading at 157.22, on track for its best day against the greenback in nearly three weeks. The move snapped a five-day losing run, though the yen was still on course to end the week down 0.2%.
Trump presses Tokyo on yen weakness
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama disclosed that Trump raised concerns about the yen's slide during a September 22 meeting in New York with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Katayama, speaking at a Friday news conference, said Takaichi told Trump that an "undervalued yen is problematic."
Katayama confirmed Tokyo and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remain in close communication to counter excessive yen volatility following their joint market intervention in July. That earlier episode came after the currency's slide toward 38-year lows past 161.80 triggered $35 billion in joint spot-market intervention on July 31. The yen had also been dented by a Bank of Japan rate hike last week that markets saw as not aggressive enough.
Dollar cools after hitting two-month high
The U.S. dollar index fell 0.3% to 100.97 on Friday, pulling back after Thursday's close at its highest level since July 28. Still, the gauge was up nearly 1% for the week despite the Friday dip.
Energy-driven inflation concerns, a rout in Treasury yields, hot economic data and a hawkish repricing of Fed expectations have lifted the dollar. The 10-year Treasury yield scaled its highest level since June 2007 earlier in the week, while the 30-year yield hit its highest since June 2004. Hawkish commentary from policymakers since last week's Fed rate hike, along with robust business activity data, has boosted odds of a quarter-point rate hike in October, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Source: Investing.com
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