The dollar rose to 159.94 yen early on Thursday, its strongest level in over two months, as expectations grew that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates after hot United States inflation data and hawkish policymaker remarks. Japan’s top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura, in his first foreign-exchange remarks since late September, said recent moves had been excessively rapid and warned that it is “still too early to forget what happened this summer,” when Japan bought yen in late July and early August, including one operation conducted jointly with the United States. The weak yen is lifting import costs: Japan’s yen-based import price index jumped 24.8 percent in October from a year earlier.
Yen nears 160 as Mimura renews intervention warning
The dollar rose to 159.94 yen on Thursday, its strongest in over two months, as Japan's top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura warned markets it is too early to forget this summer's intervention.
Why it matters: The 160 level is where traders expect Tokyo to consider yen-buying intervention again, and a break above it would add import-price pressure to Japan's inflation problem.
Data as of Reuters report of November 12, 2026, read in full in its 94.7 The Beast carrying: the 159.94 dollar high, Mimura's remarks and the October import price index are Reuters' figures. Bloomberg reported the same day that the yen again fell toward the 160 level in later trading; its article itself was not read. Developing item.
Sources
- Japan's Mimura says markets shouldn't forget intervention risks as yen nears 160 - Reuters, via 94.7 The Beast - 2026-11-12
- Yen Falls to Key 160 Per Dollar Level, Raising Intervention Risk - Bloomberg - 2026-11-12