Yen weaker in thin trading as traders stay alert to intervention risk

Sanae Takaichi 's challenge in boosting the economy while inflation remains above the central bank's target. Data on Friday also showed that core consumer inflation in Japan's capital slowed in December on moderating cost pressure for food but stayed above the central bank's 2% target, firming the case for further ‌interest rate hikes. Bank ‍of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday the nation's underlying ‍inflation is accelerating gradually and steadily approaching the central bank's 2% ‌target, reiterating the central bank's readiness to continue raising interest rates. The Japanese yen weakened against the dollar despite a recent Bank of Japan rate hike, as concerns over fiscal policy and inflation persist. The yen has come off its recent lows, however, as Japanese officials warn about potential intervention. Japan has a free hand in dealing with excessive moves in the yen, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Tuesday, issuing the strongest warning to date on Tokyo's readiness to intervene in the currency market to arrest sharp declines in the currency. Against the ‍yen, the dollar was last up 0.48% on the day at 156.54. It reached 157.77 last Friday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback ‍against a basket of ⁠currencies including the yen ⁠and the euro, rose 0.01% to 98.04, with the euro down 0.04% at $1.1772. Sterling fell 0.22% to $1.3493. The greenback has weakened this year as investors price in further Federal Reserve rate cuts while other central banks are expected to hold rates steady. Fed officials are balancing a weakening labor market against concerns about inflation that continues to run above the central bank's 2% annual target. Fed funds futures traders are pricing in between two and three 25 basis point cuts next year, with the first possible in March. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 0.58% to $87,340. (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news , stock tips , Budget 2025 , Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice , on ETMarkets . Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today . Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price , Axis Bank Share Price , HDFC Bank Share Price , Infosys Share Price , Wipro Share Price , NTPC Share Price (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel ) (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news , stock tips , Budget 2025 , Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice , on ETMarkets . Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today . Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price , Axis Bank Share Price , HDFC Bank Share Price , Infosys Share Price , Wipro Share Price , NTPC Share Price

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