On Friday, the Japanese yen accelerated its depreciation, with traders pushing it toward levels that could trigger official intervention. Earlier, the Bank of Japan announced a rate hike but provided few hints about the future path of interest rate increases.

The USD/JPY pair continued to rise above the 157 level, potentially posting its largest single-day gain since early October and reaching the highest level in nearly a month. The EUR/JPY hit a record high, rising 1.2% intraday.
Earlier, the Bank of Japan raised its policy rate from 0.5%, but Governor Kazuo Ueda remained vague about the timing and pace of future rate hikes in the post-meeting press conference. Subsequently, the yen's decline further widened.
In the statement released on Friday, the BOJ maintained its view that core inflation would approach the 2% target in the latter half of the three-year forecast period ending in fiscal year 2027. The bank reiterated that even after rate hikes, real interest rates remain "significantly" low and committed to tightening policy further if the economy and inflation meet expectations.
However, these statements failed to prevent the yen from falling.
Since the USD/JPY exchange rate broke above 155 in November, traders have begun considering the possibility of official intervention in the currency market.
The last time Japanese authorities intervened was in July 2024, when the USD/JPY exchange rate reached 161.96, the highest level since the mid-1980s. #日本0.75%——这一举措已被政策制定者充分预告，交易员在加息落地后纷纷抛售日元。