The yen’s recent depreciation has been notably smooth and orderly, according to an analyst at InTouch Capital Markets. According to Jin10, Sean Callow, a senior FX analyst at InTouch Capital Markets, said the most striking feature of the yen’s weakening over the past few weeks was the steady, controlled nature of the move.
Callow said the U.S. dollar has risen moderately against the yen without the kind of sharp volatility that Japanese authorities typically cite to justify intervention in currency markets.
He added that a pullback in oil prices should have provided some support to the yen, but interest-rate dynamics remained the dominant driver. Callow said strong U.S. economic data reinforced market expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates later this year.
He also noted that although the Bank of Japan took action in June, a 1% yield was not attractive for a currency trading near a roughly 40-year low against the U.S. dollar.