Dollar hits 19-month high as yen closes on 160 and Tokyo warns traders
The dollar climbed to a 19-month high against major currencies on Thursday, and the yen moved back toward 160 per dollar — the threshold Japan defended with heavy intervention this summer.
The dollar index gained 0.15 percent to 103.02, its highest since April 2025. Against the yen it rose 0.04 percent to 159.83 after touching 159.94, its strongest in more than two months. Traders have raised bets on further Federal Reserve tightening after hotter-than-expected October inflation and hawkish comments from policymakers, some of whom have left open a 50-basis-point move. The Fed held its benchmark at 3.75 percent to 4 percent on October 27–28, with Lisa D. Cook and Beth M. Hammack dissenting in favour of a 25-basis-point increase.
The rate gap is the engine. The Bank of Japan's policy rate sits near 1.25 percent after September's increase, well below the Fed's range. BOJ Policy Board member Toichiro Asada pushed back on another near-term hike in a speech in Nagasaki, saying premature tightening could weaken growth and depress underlying inflation. He opposed September's move. Producer prices rose 7.1 percent year on year in October, up from 6.8 percent, and the yen-based import price index jumped 24.8 percent, showing the currency's weakness feeding into costs.
Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Atsushi Mimura warned traders it was "too early to forget" the summer intervention and said recent moves had become excessively rapid. Ministry of Finance figures show JPY15.3993 trillion of intervention between July and September, including JPY7.9756 trillion on July 30 and a joint operation with the United States. No new intervention has taken place.
The euro edged 0.06 percent higher to $1.1096, the Australian dollar was little changed at $0.6847 and the New Zealand dollar slipped 0.05 percent to $0.5559. Bitcoin fell 0.63 percent to $73,848.24 and Ether 0.49 percent to $2,058.18. New York Fed President John Williams speaks later Thursday, and the BOJ meets on December 17–18.
What it means for Pakistan: A dollar near 19-month highs keeps pressure on the rupee and on Pakistan's import bill, and makes dollar-priced assets — from oil to bitcoin — costlier in local terms. It also matters for remittances: a stronger dollar stretches each transfer from overseas Pakistanis further at home, while any yen-funded carry unwind that spills into global markets would hit crypto and risk assets Pakistani investors hold.
