Yen Slides to Late-160s: Pushed by the US, Not Pulled by Japan

In New York FX trade on the 17th, the yen briefly slid to the late-160s per dollar as markets bet the US Fed may hike this year, buying dollars and selling yen. The direction is telling: the push came from the US side, not Japan's policy, breaking the intuition that a BOJ hike must strengthen the yen. Exchange rates are relative, so even if the BOJ hikes, a stronger dollar can keep the yen weak; the yen's path is a US-Japan rate tug-of-war. For Taiwan readers it's practical: a weak yen makes travel and shopping cheaper but adds volatility, so timing FX matters more, and watching the Fed often predicts the yen better than watching the BOJ alone.