FX.co ★ Yen Remains Under Pressure

The Japanese yen traded around 162.4 per dollar on Tuesday, extending the previous session’s losses and lingering near its weakest level in about forty years amid a lack of follow-up intervention by Japanese authorities. On Monday, the currency fell sharply after a Reuters report indicated that Tokyo had no immediate plans to change the asset allocation of its state pension funds, dampening expectations of near-term support for domestic markets. Still, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama stated that the country’s massive pension fund would adjust its portfolio if necessary, and also proposed allowing government bonds to be included in a tax-exempt investment program for individual investors. The yen faced additional pressure from a stronger US dollar and a surge in oil prices after President Donald Trump reinstated a blockade on Iranian vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and called for reimbursement from countries benefiting from US efforts to secure the critical shipping route.