Yen hits 40-year low in historic slide that’s rattled Japan
[TOKYO] The yen slid to its weakest level against the US dollar since 1986, a milestone that will generate unease in Japan and put traders on high alert for authorities wading into the market.
The currency depreciated as much as 0.2 per cent to touch 161.98 versus the greenback in New York trading on Monday (Jun 29), breaching the 161.95 mark touched in July 2024 during an earlier campaign by Japan to shore up the exchange rate.
The last time the yen traded at this level it was barreling in the opposite direction, midway through a massive and years-long rally that followed a currency accord engineered by the US. The world was a different place – Japan’s asset bubble was still forming, the Soviet Union was cleaning up after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and Top Gun had just launched Tom Cruise towards the pinnacle of Hollywood stardom.