Market on alert for joint intervention by Japan and U.S. in exchange rate; Japanese yen spikes against the U.S. dollar

Due to the market's vigilance against possible intervention by the Japanese and American authorities in the exchange rate, selling of the Japanese yen was suppressed, causing a significant jump in the dollar-yen rate in the early trading session of the Tokyo foreign exchange market on January 26. Data released by the Bank of Japan showed that at the close of the Tokyo foreign exchange market on the 23rd, the yen was trading at around 158.4 to the dollar. In the early trading session on the 26th, this rate surged to as high as 153.9, an increase of over 4 yen. In the afternoon of the 23rd in Tokyo and the morning of the 23rd in New York, the yen rates in the Tokyo and New York foreign exchange markets experienced rapid increases within a short period of time, leading to speculation in the market that Japan and the United States may have conducted joint inquiries into the exchange rate. Exchange rate inquiries refer to financial and monetary authorities inquiring about the current exchange rate and market conditions from banks through the central bank, and are seen as a preparatory stage for foreign exchange intervention, serving as a stronger signal of market intervention compared to verbal intervention.