The Japanese yen is at five-month lows against the dollar

The Japanese yen fell on Friday to remain close to five-month lows against the dollar, amid the conservative policy of the Bank of Japan towards tightening monetary policy.

The Japanese currency could not catch its breath, as the Japanese Finance Minister expressed the government's deep concern about foreign exchange movements, and stressed that the authorities are ready to take appropriate measures to counter excessive movements in the market, referring to the possibility of intervention to prevent further decline of the yen against the US dollar.

The summary of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting held in December, released on Friday, also showed a split in views among officials, some of whom expressed more confidence about the possibility of raising interest rates in the near future, while others continue to adopt a cautious stance due to uncertainty about wage developments and the economic policies of the US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said last week that the central bank has kept interest rates steady, and that it will take a long time to gauge the full outlook for wages and foreign economies, especially the United States.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, on the other hand, indicated earlier this month that US central bank officials will remain cautious about any further rate cuts, after cutting the interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point as expected.

At the same time, the economic policies proposed by Trump, such as loosening regulations, lowering taxes, raising tariffs, tightening immigration policies, were considered supportive of growth and inflation, according to economists.

It is worth noting that the US dollar is on the right track with monthly gains of 5.5% against the yen, recording an annual rise of about 12%.