Yen Tumbles in Tokyo after BOJ Decision

Jiji Press

13:46 JST, March 19, 2024

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—The yen tumbled against the dollar in Tokyo Tuesday afternoon, following the Bank of Japan’s release of the results of its two-day monetary policy meeting through the day.

At 1 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥149.69-71, up from ¥149.12-12 at 5 p.m. Monday.

At the Policy Board meeting, the BOJ decided to lift the negative interest rate regime in a revision of its ultraeasy monetary policy while opting to continue buying Japanese government bonds massively for the time being.

Many market players reacted to the central bank’s announcement by stepping up yen selling versus the dollar because the move was “in line with what was reported (by media before the decision),” an official of a Japanese securities firm said.

The BOJ decision also sparked purchases of JGB futures, market sources said.