Photo/Illutration A display screen in Tokyo shows the yen falling to the 141 level against the U.S. dollar on Sept. 6. (Kyosuke Yamamoto)

The yen fell to the 143 level against the U.S. dollar on the New York Foreign Exchange on Sept. 6, a 24-year low that could sink even further.

After depreciating to 140 against the greenback on Sept. 1, the Japanese currency’s slide has picked up steam.

Reasons for the yen’s decline include rising U.S. interest rates since spring to stem inflation, which have strengthened the dollar.

The yen, however, has also been dropping against other currencies, including those of emerging economies.

Experts argue that the stagnating Japanese economy is the key factor behind the yen’s overall decline.

In late August, senior officials of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board repeatedly expressed their support for further interest rate hikes to curb inflation.

This sent a message to investors that they can expect an even wider interest rate gap between the United States and Japan, which has kept interest rates low as part of its monetary easing policy.

The trend of yen-selling and dollar-buying has since accelerated.

The Japanese currency was being traded at 142 to the dollar on Sept. 6 on the London Stock Exchange.

“The yen could fall to the 145 level against the dollar depending on data in price indexes in the United States or the monetary policies in Japan and the United States,” said Tsuyoshi Ueno, a senior economist at the NLI Research Institute.

The euro has also fallen against the dollar, by 14 percent since the beginning of this year to Sept. 5.

The sterling pound has dropped by 17 percent and the Chinese yuan by 9 percent against the U.S. currency during the same period.

But the yen’s decline is much steeper, at 22 percent.

In addition, the yen has fallen by 10 percent against the Thai baht, 14 percent against the Indian rupee, and 32 percent against the Brazilian real.

Over the same period, the yen has dropped by 50 percent against the ruble, despite the crash of the Russian currency after economic sanctions started against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February.

While Western countries have tightened their monetary policies to battle rising consumer prices, Japan continues its monetary easing policy.

Some analysts argue, however, that differences in monetary policies are not the only factors behind the yen’s fall.

They point to the trend of investors buying currencies of countries rich in natural resources that have become much more expensive this year. These countries include Brazil and Russia.

Related News