Yen Plunges From Near 3-Yr High vs Dollar on Speculation Japan Selling Yen
By Miki Anzai
Yen Plunges From Near 3-Yr High on Speculation Japan Sells Yen
Tokyo, Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The yen plunged from near a
three-year high yesterday on speculation Japan is selling its
currency to halt its rise.
The yen posted its biggest one-day gain since early October
yesterday, rising more than 3 percent, after Japan said its
economy grew 0.2 percent in the April-June quarter. That far
exceeded economists' forecast of a 0.3 percent contraction.
``Japan might have thought it's bad if the country let the
yen strengthen,' said Yasuji Yamanaka, a foreign exchange
manager at Nikko Trust and Banking Corp.
The yen fell as low as 109.40 to the dollar and recently
traded at 109.10 to the dollar from 108.06 yen in late New York
trading yesterday, when it surged as high as 107.55 to the
dollar, its strongest since Aug. 27, 1996.
Right before the yen started falling, Zembei Mizoguchi,
director-general of the Japanese Finance Ministry's International
Bureau, said, ``A premature rise in the yen is not desirable,'
and ``Japan will take appropriate action if necessary.'
The Bank of Japan declined to comment on whether the bank is
intervening in the market to sell yen.
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