Yen hits 10-day low on intervention warning

London

THE yen hit a 10-day low against the US dollar on Monday after Japan's finance minister said that Tokyo was ready to intervene in the currency market if needed, and as stronger risk appetite sapped demand for traditional safe havens.

The yen had reached an 18-month high against the US dollar last week, having gained around 15 per cent in the past six months in part because of waning investor expectations for a steady increase in US interest rates.

That has prompted a ramping-up of intervention talk from Japan, with Finance Minister Taro Aso's comments on Monday following remarks from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last week, who said that it was watching the…