USD/JPY Falls to 160.80 on Weak US Jobs Data

USD/JPY slipped to the 160.80-160.20 area on July 3 after June non-farm payrolls came in at just +57K versus +110K expected, triggering broad dollar selling. The drop follows a week of extreme volatility that saw the yen hit a 40-year low of 162.66 despite record Japanese intervention of 11.7 trillion yen and a BoJ rate hike to 1%. Authorities shifted to unsignalled “ambush” tactics by July 2 to trap speculators, while Finance Minister signals and verbal warnings from officials added pressure. Thin liquidity later in the week raises further intervention risk as markets test support near 160.00.