As a result of the supposed intervention of the BoJ, the pound retreats below 165.00. Japanese authorities declined to comment. FX analysts are skeptical about the effectiveness of monetary policy interventions. , The British pound weakened more than 2.5% in a few minutes during Friday’s US trading session, in what appears to be an intervention by Japanese authorities to protect the yen. GBP/JPY is trading at 169.50, fresh from a six-year high of 170.25, before falling to a session low of 16 .70. There was no fundamental catalyst for the decline of the pound, and all signs point to the supposed actions of the Bank of Japan and the Ministry of Finance. Japan’s Ministry of Finance declined to comment on the matter. Earlier in the week, BoJ officials and Japanese authorities reiterated their commitment to intervene to curb yen volatility. Finance Minister Suzuki confirmed on Friday that the Japanese authorities are „tough” on currency speculators. On Thursday, Japan’s deputy finance minister, Masato Kanda, confirmed that the Japanese government is ready to act „if excessive volatility becomes increasingly unacceptable.” Currency analysts doubt the effectiveness of such actions, although the fundamental reasons are negative. The monetary policy divergence between the hawkish Federal Reserve and the ultra-accommodative Bank of Japan is clearly in favor of the US dollar.