Yen falls to 18-month low on election speculation
The Japanese yen fell to its weakest level in a year-and-a-half on Wednesday, as investors weighed the possibility of a snap election that could open the door to fiscal stimulus, while an auction of government debt drew a cautious response from the market.
The yen slipped as much as 0.2% to 159.45 per U.S. dollar, its lowest against the greenback since July 2024, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Efforts to recover from the lows faltered after a five-year Japanese government bond auction saw weak demand. The currency was last trading flat at 159.215 per dollar.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is reportedly considering snap lower house elections on February 8.
As the yen nears 160 per dollar, traders are on alert for potential intervention by Japanese authorities to support the currency.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar held steady near a one-month high following U.S. CPI data that came broadly in line with expectations, reinforcing forecasts that the Federal Reserve will maintain rates later this month despite unprecedented pressure from the White House to cut interest rates.
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