The Fed held rates and Powell noted that fighting inflation was taking longer than expected.
Then he framed the outlook as a decision between cutting or holding, a relief for markets nervous about the risk of another rate hike and a slight negative for the dollar.
Enter Japan, or so traders suspected, as the dollar suddenly tanked from 157.5 yen to 153.
Assuming it was the work of Japanese authorities, the tactic is an evolution – riding dollar weakness for effect and not just correcting sudden falls in the yen.
But the worrying part for them is how quickly and strongly the bid for dollars returned.
By mid-morning in Tokyo, the dollar/yen was back to 156, suggesting that some speculators – rather than being rinsed out – are simply taking the opportunity to reload bets against the yen at more favourable prices.
