The yen was poised for its first weekly gain in over a month on Friday, according to a Reuters report, after the Japanese government intervened in foreign exchange markets for the first time since the Asian financial crisis in 1998, but a soaring dollar kept other currencies trapped near multi-year lows.
In early Asian trade, despite Japan being closed for a vacation, the yen strengthened by 0.1% to 142.24 per dollar.
The Japanese authorities have confirmed its intervention in the currency markets for the first time since 1998 to save the yen from further decline after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) decided earlier to keep its ultra-low interest rate to support its fragile economy that is currently in a recovering stage from the Covid-19 outbreak.
The dollar extended its fall against the yen on Thursday. It was last down 2% at 141.15 yen after the confirmation of the intervention. The greenback was up more than 1% against the yen prior to the announcement that dropped the yen to its new 24-year low.
