The United States Dollar made gains on Wednesday against most major rivals as investor nerves heightened over global growth prospects. In contrast, the Japanese Yen plummeted to a 24-year low due to rising bond yields in the U.S. and Europe contrasting with low interest rates in Japan.

Also on Wednesday, the Euro fell 0.3% to $1.0493, whilst the Pound declined 0.4% to $1.2228, ahead of the publication of consumer price data in Britain.

A higher consumer price figure would pile additional pressure on the Bank of England to continue hiking rates to curb soaring inflation.

In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is making his testimony to Congress on Wednesday and Thursday, as investors seek further signals of the likelihood of a 75-basis point rate rise at next month’s meeting.

The Dollar index edged up 0.3% to 104.7.

At the time of writing, the Yen stood at 136.1 against the Dollar, Reuters reports, after hitting 136.71 in early trade, the lowest seen since October 1998. This year’s sell-off has seen the Japanese currency fall 18% from 115.08 at the end of 2021.

Last week, Japan’s central bank held ultra-low interest rates and pledged to back its yield curve control (YCC) policy, limiting the 10-year Japanese government bond yield at 0.25%. 

“Dollar/Yen is continuing to trade on the Treasury yields, which have been stable but with the 10-year staying above the 3.20% level while the Bank of Japan has done a lot to defend YCC,” said Redmond Wong, Saxo Markets Hong Kong market strategist.

Elsewhere, the Australian Dollar declined 0.7% to $0.6919, the Reuters report goes on to say, as low commodity prices – such as iron ore - continued to negatively impact the currency.