The value of the Japanese yen has fallen to its lowest level in eight months.
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) and other sources on October 31, the exchange rate in the Tokyo foreign exchange market stood at 154.07 to 154.09 yen per dollar as of 8:30 a.m., down 0.64 yen from 5:00 p.m. the previous day.
On October 30 (local time), the dollar-yen exchange rate was in the mid-154 yen range in the New York market, marking its lowest level in about eight months since February.
Nikkei explained that the yen's depreciation accelerated after Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda stated at a press conference following the monetary policy decision meeting the previous day that he would not rush to raise interest rates further.
The BOJ kept its policy rate unchanged the previous day and stated that it would need to monitor the impact of U.S. tariff policies and corporate wage trends before making any decisions on additional rate hikes. Governor Ueda said regarding the necessity and timing of a rate increase, "At this point, I am not making any assumptions," and added that for the future rate path, "I would like to confirm the momentum at the beginning of next year's spring labor-management wage negotiations (Shunto)."
Additionally, Nikkei noted that the stance of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is known to favor monetary easing, is also contributing to the yen's weakness.
NHK analyzed that this is due to the growing view in the market that, given the actions of the U.S. and Japanese central banks, it will be difficult for the interest rate gap between the two countries to narrow anytime soon.
On October 29 (local time), Jerome Powell, Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said, "It is not a foregone conclusion that there will be a rate cut in December," drawing a line against expectations for an additional cut within the year.
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