LONDON/NEW YORK: The dollar climbed above 160.60 yen in London and New York trading on Wednesday, hitting its highest level since December 1986, as traders grew wary of possible market intervention by Japanese authorities.

At 9:10 a.m. in New York, the dollar stood at 160.20-30 yen, up 0.59 yen from 5 p.m. the previous day.

Dollar buying accelerated after the U.S. currency crossed the 160-yen threshold, which was seen as a “defense line” for Japanese currency authorities.

The greenback was supported by a rise in U.S. Treasury yields after a senior U.S. Federal Reserve official made a negative remark about an early interest rate cut.

Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, Masato Kanda, Japanese vice finance minister for international affairs, expressed “serious concern” about the yen’s recent rapid weakening, but the market’s reaction to the remark was limited.

The dollar had previously exceeded 160 yen on April 29, but it soon fell back below 155 yen. It was revealed later that Japanese authorities had intervened in the market at the time.

JIJI Press