Dollar-to-Yen Exchange Rate Hits Lowest in 9 Months

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The value of the Japanese yen fell to its lowest level in nine months due to the strength of the US dollar.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun and others, on the 19th (local time) in the New York foreign exchange market, the yen-dollar exchange rate exceeded 111.50 yen at one point during the session, rising more than 1% compared to the previous trading day. This marks the lowest value of the yen against the dollar in nine months since May last year. On the 20th, in the Tokyo foreign exchange market, the rate traded at 111.40 yen per dollar, up 1.38% compared to earlier in the week.

As views spread that the US economy is stable and the economic impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is limited, dollar buying continued, causing the yen to weaken against the dollar. Additionally, the recent contraction of the Japanese economy is interpreted as increasing downward pressure on the yen.

The Wall Street financial blog "Zero Hedge" stated, "The yen-dollar exchange rate and gold prices, which usually show a high correlation, are rapidly decoupling," adding, "As a result, the yen's value relative to gold has quickly declined over the past few months, and the current yen-denominated gold price is close to the record high of 1979 during the second oil shock."

Meanwhile, on the same day in the New York foreign exchange market, the dollar index rose to 99.73 at one point, the highest level since May 2017, before closing at 99.601.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.