Intervention Threat Weakens Dollar

The dollar fell against most currencies Thursday after an influential Japanese official suggested the Bank of Japan may sell dollars in the foreign exchange market if necessary to defend the weakening yen.

Traders were caught off guard by the remarks from Eisuke Sakakibara, director of the Finance Ministry’s international finance bureau and an important architect of Japan’s foreign exchange policy.

Many traders reacted by selling dollars to lock in profits from the currency’s 4.5 percent rise vs. the yen this month.

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollar in foreign currency Canada .7418 1.3481 France .1811 5.5210 Germany .6109 1.6368 Great Britain 1.6213 .6168 Italy .000622 1609.00 Japan .008211 121.79 Mexico .127730 7.8290