The yen slid past 160 per dollar for the first time since September, extending
losses into a third session as rising US Treasury yields and firmer Fed
rate-hike expectations bolstered the dollar; the US-Japan yield gap exceeded
250bps, increasing depreciation pressure on the yen. A senior finance ministry
official in charge of FX, Miura Atsushi, warned recent yen moves have been "too
rapid" and referenced prior market intervention; Finance Minister Katayama
Satsuki and US Treasury Secretary BESSENT have signalled they would intervene if
necessary. Earlier USD/JPY briefly plunged over 70 pips to 159.30, fuelling
intervention speculation, and was trading around 159.72. Tokyo intervened three
times this summer, deploying a cumulative 15.4 tln JPY (about $96.4 bln).
