According to CoinMeta, the Japanese yen has fallen below the 160 level against the US dollar for the first time since September, showing weakness for the third consecutive trading day. Rising yields on US Treasury bonds and increasing expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes have pushed the US dollar stronger, with the interest rate spread between the US and Japan exceeding 250 basis points, adding to the pressure for the yen to depreciate. On Thursday, Jun Mitamura, an official in charge of foreign exchange affairs at Japan's Finance Ministry, stated that the recent fluctuations in the yen exchange rate have been "too rapid," and mentioned that both former Japanese Finance Minister Masayuki Katsumata and former US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had previously signaled that intervention in the currency market might be necessary again if needed. Previously, the US dollar fell rapidly against the yen by more than 70 points to 159.30, sparking speculation about intervention by Japanese authorities, but it has now rebounded to 159.72. This summer, Japan intervened in the currency market three times, using a total of 15.4 trillion yen (about 96.4 billion US dollars).