Asian shares drop after U.S. inflation data triggers Wall Street sell-off

Yen falls to near 145 per dollar on speculation over Fed's continued tightening

20220914 A monitor showing the Japanese yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar

A monitor in Tokyo showing the Japanese yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the Nikkei Stock Average on Wednesday. © Kyodo

KENTARO IWAMOTO and ECHO WONG, Nikkei staff writers

September 14, 2022 12:29 JST

TOKYO/HONG KONG -- Asian shares fell sharply on Wednesday after higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data stoked speculation that the Federal Reserve will keep up the pace of its rapid monetary tightening.

The U.S. consumer price index for August, released by the Department of Labor on Tuesday, rose 8.3% from a year earlier, which exceeded market expectations. As a result, the Fed is now widely expected to continue raising interest rates significantly to curb inflation when its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets next week.