Yen Slides Beyond ¥147 as Dollar Gains in Tokyo Trade

The Japanese yen weakened in Asian trading on Friday, slipping past ¥147 per dollar for the first time in several weeks. The move extended an earlier 0.5% rise in the USD/JPY pair to ¥146.93 before the currency crossed the ¥147 threshold, according to indicative pricing from multiple trading platforms. The drop in the yen came as Tokyo equity markets opened firmer. The Nikkei 225 was up about 264 points at 9:15 a.m. local time, suggesting investors were largely unfazed by the currency’s slide. Traders cited technical factors, including support at a key moving average and the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level flagged earlier in the week, as influencing the dollar-yen momentum.