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Dollar gains after intervention
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December 24, 1999: 11:23 a.m. ET
Japan’s 13th effort since June to weaken yen works -- for now
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Japan’s government bought dollars and sold yen Friday in an effort to weaken its resurgent currency and keep the Asian nation’s fragile economic recovery on track.
The 13th intervention since June worked -- for the moment, at least.
Just before 11:00 a.m., ET, the dollar rose to 102.85 yen from 102.05 Thursday, a 0.80 percent gain in the dollar’s value.
"Today's move by the (Bank of Japan) was a signal to traders that Tokyo remains uncomfortable with an excessively strong yen,” Ruesch International said in a note to clients Friday.
Japan’s currency has been on a tear for much of the year, as overseas investors pour money into Japanese stocks, which must be bought in local currency.
But officials on both sides of the Pacific fret that a strengthening yen, because its makes exports more expensive, will curb Japan’s economic recovery.
Already, a host of Japanese exporters have blamed the strong yen on poor financial results. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. last month posted a first-half net loss of 38.5 billion yen, or $370 million. Sony said in October sales in the first half of the current fiscal year fell 6.8 percent to 1,632.70 billion yen, or $15.68 billion.
But Japan’s efforts to weaken the yen have proved short-lived as overseas investors continue to pour money into Japanese markets, which have been some of the world’s best performing this year.
Japan’s major stock index, the Nikkei, rose again overnight, climbing 123.02 points or 0.67 percent, to 18,584.95.
Mutual fund holders have been some of the biggest beneficiaries. Warburg Pincus’ Japan Growth Fund, for example, is up 225 percent year-to-date.
The dollar, meanwhile, edged higher against the euro. Just before 11:00 a.m. ET, its cost $1.0133 to buy one euro, down from $1.0147 Thursday, a 0.12 percent gain in the dollar’s value. 
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Bank of Japan
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