Yen rises against US dollar, Singdollar on suspected govt intervention

Japanese banks said to be selling greenback for yen as currency plunged to 34-year low

The Japanese currency jumped suddenly against the US dollar on April 29, with traders citing yenbuying intervention by the Japanese authorities to try to underpin a relentless tumble in the currency to levels last seen more than three decades ago.

The US dollar fell sharply to 155.01 yen from as high as 160.245 earlier in the day. Banking sources said Japanese banks were seen selling dollars for yen.

At 6.03pm Singapore time, the yen was trading at 155.73 per US dollar, up 1.6 per cent from its previous close.

Against the Singapore currency, the yen also reversed course, up 1.4 per cent to 114.518 after earlier dropping to 116.943.

Japan's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said on April 29 that current developments in the exchange-rate market were "speculative, rapid and abnormal", and they could not be overlooked.

Mr Kanda declined to comment when asked by reporters whether the authorities intervened in the currency market to prop up the yen.