TOKYO -- The yen briefly strengthened to the 151 level against the dollar early Friday in New York trading, a more than three-week high, but the short-lived spike did little to allay worries about the Japanese currency's persistent weakness even amid suspected intervention.
As of 1 p.m. in New York, the yen was trading around 152.9 per dollar. Despite appreciating somewhat over the past week, including a sharp rise Monday that may have been caused by authorities stepping into the market, the Japanese currency remains at historically soft levels.
