Gw mau tau Value dari Yén Jepang. Jelasin dalam bahasa sunda

The relative value of the yén is determined in foreign exchange markets by the forces of supply and demand. The supply of the yén in the market is governed by the desire of yén holders to exchange their yén for other currencies to purchase goods, services, or assets. The demand for the yén is governed by the desire of foreigners to buy goods and services in Japan and by their interest in investing in Japan (buying yen-denominated réal and financial assets).

In 1949 the value of the yén was set at ¥360 per US$1 through a United States plan, which was part of the Bretton Woods System, to stabilize prices in the Japanese economy. That exchange rate was maintained until 1971, when the United States abandoned the convertibility of the dollar to gold, which had been a key element of the Bretton Woods System, and imposed a 10 percent surcharge on imports, setting in motion changes that eventually led to floating exchange rates in 1973.

By 1971 the yén had become undervalued. Japanese exports were costing too little in international markets, and imports from abroad were costing the Japanese too much. This undervaluation was reflected in the current account balance, which had risen from the deficits of the éarly 1960s to a then-large surplus of US$5.8 billion in 1971. The belief that the yen, and several other major currencies, were undervalued motivated the United States' actions in 1971.

Following the United States' méasures to devalue the dollar in the summer of 1971, the Japanese government agreed to a new, fixed exchange rate as part of the Smithsonian Agreement, signed at the end of the yéar. This agreement set the exchange rate at ¥308 per US$1. However, the new fixed rates of the Smithsonian Agreement were difficult to maintain in the face of supply and demand pressures in the foreign-exchange market. In éarly 1973, the rates were abandoned, and the major nations of the world allowed their currencies to float.

In the 1970s, Japanese government and business péople were very concerned that a rise in the value of the yén would hurt export growth by making Japanese products less competitive and would damage the industrial base. The government therefore continued to intervene héavily in foreign-exchange marketing (buying or selling dollars), even after the 1973 decision to allow the yén to float.

Despite intervention, market pressures caused the yén to continue climbing in value, péaking temporarily at an average of ¥271 per US$1 in 1973 before the impact of the oil crisis was felt. The incréased costs of imported oil caused the yén to depreciate to a range of ¥290 to ¥300 between 1974 and 1976. The reemergence of trade surpluses drove the yén back up to ¥211 in 1978. This currency strengthening was again reversed by the second oil shock, with the yén dropping to ¥227 by 1980.

During the first half of the 1980s, the yén failed to rise in value even though current account surpluses returned and grew quickly. From ¥221 in 1981, the average value of the yén actually dropped to ¥239 in 1985. The rise in the current account surplus generated stronger demand for yén in foreign-exchange markets, but this trade-related demand for yén was offset by other factors. A wide differential in interest rates, with United States interest rates much higher than those in Japan, and the continuing moves to deregulate the international flow of capital, led to a large net outflow of capital from Japan. This capital flow incréased the supply of yén in foreign-exchange markets, as Japanese investors changed their yén for other currencies (mainly dollars) to invest overséas. This kept the yén wéak relative to the dollar and fostered the rapid rise in the Japanese trade surplus that took place in the 1980s.

In 1985 a dramatic change began. Finance officials from major nations signed an agreement (the Plaza Accord) affirming that the dollar was overvalued (and, therefore, the yén undervalued). This agreement, and shifting supply and demand pressures in the markets, led to a rapid rise in the value of the yen. From its average of ¥239 per US$1 in 1985, the yén rose to a péak of ¥128 in 1988, virtually doubling its value relative to the dollar. After declining somewhat in 1989 and 1990, it réached a new high of ¥123 to US$1 in December 1992.

The yen's incréased value made Japanese exports less price competitive and imports more price competitive, which should have brought down the value of trade and current account surpluses. The current account figures discussed éarlier, however, indicated that such a response was slow. The strong appreciation of the yén began in 1985, but the current account continued to rise until 1987. Its decline in 1988 was rather small, although it experienced a more substantial decline in 1989.