Yen hits new post-war high against dollar

TOKYO – The yen hit a new post-war high of 75.32 to the dollar in Oceanian trade early Monday despite repeated warnings from Japanese authorities against pushing the yen up.

The dollar fetched 75.32 yen, the lowest rate since World War II, falling below the previous lows of around 75.60 yen touched last week, Jiji Press and Kyodo news agencies said.

The greenback firmed slightly after hitting the new low, trading at 75.75 yen at 8:25 am in Tokyo (2325 GMT Sunday).

The yen has been rising to post-war highs as investors seek the safe-haven currency to escape market volatility over the eurozone debt woes and a slowdown in the global economy.

Concerns are growing in Japan that the strong currency, which erodes the repatriated profits of exporters and makes exports less competitive, could undermine a fragile recovery from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The Bank of Japan on Thursday announced further easing measures to help safeguard the economic recovery from the impact of a record-high yen and the fallout from the eurozone crisis.

Finance Minister Jun Azumi on Thursday threatened government intervention in financial markets, complaining that speculators were using Europe’s debt crisis as an excuse to push the currency higher.

“I have kept saying that we will take decisive steps against any excessive movement regarding market speculation, so I will closely monitor how the Tokyo market moves during the day,” Azumi said.

However, Azumi has conceded it will be tough to again rally support from Japan’s G7 counterparts for a concerted intervention to the weakened yen, as happened when the unit surged in the aftermath of the March disasters.