By: Barbara Zigah

Earlier today, it was reported that the Bank of Japan had intervened in the currency, sending the safe haven 5.1% lower against the U.S. Dollar to 79.49 Japanese Yen. As reported at 5:40 a.m. (GMT), the USD/JPY pair was trading lower at 75.8250. The Japanese central bank sold the currency for the second time in three months following a record high against the greenback which was struck earlier in the session. The Finance Minister, Jun Azumi, said that the bank was acting solely and independently of the other G7 banks, a reference to the coordinated central bank interventions which occurred following the March earthquake.

Last week, the Japanese central bank eased their already loose monetary further in an effort to give the struggling economy some traction. Nonetheless, speculative investing has been sending the safe haven currency continuously higher, especially in the absence of a sound alternative. Though the Finance Minister said that the bank would continue its intervention measures as and when needed during the trading day, most analysts don’t expect any further moves by the central bank.

Most market participants had been wary of an intervention, as the Japanese government has been steadily reporting that currency’s appreciation has been hampering the economic restoration efforts.