LOC11:20
08:20 GMT
TOKYO, Feb 6 (KUNA) -- The US dollar hit a two-month low against the Japanese yen into the upper-JPY 151 range on Thursday in Tokyo after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member Naoki Tamura suggested further interest rate hikes.
The dollar slid to JPY 151.81 at one point in the morning, its lowest level since December. At 5 pm (08:00 GMT), the greenback traded at JPY 152.50-52 versus JPY 152.54-64 in New York and JPY 153.33-35 in Tokyo at 5 pm Wednesday.
In his speech at a meeting with local business leaders in the central Japanese prefecture of Nagano earlier in the day, Tamura said Japan's neutral rate should be at least around 1 percent, up from the current 0.5 percent, to contain inflation. "The BOJ needs to raise the short-term interest rate to at least that level by the second half of fiscal 2025," said Tamura.
Last month, the BOJ raised the key short-term rate to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent, its highest level in 17 years. (end)
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