Tokyo, 20 April, /AJMEDIA
The Japanese yen slipped to a new 20-year low in the 129 zone against the U.S. dollar Wednesday morning in Tokyo amid the prospect of a widening interest rate gap between the two countries.
The yen dropped to the lower end of the 129 range in early morning trading, marking the Japanese currency’s weakest level versus the dollar since April 2002.
At 9 a.m., the dollar fetched 129.32-35 yen compared with 128.86-96 yen in New York and 128.06-08 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note briefly rose to the 2.94 percent range on Tuesday, a level not seen since December 2018.
The rise was fueled by growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike interest rates aggressively, dealers said.
The yen has been weakening against the dollar as U.S. monetary policy diverges from that of Japan amid higher inflation.
