Yen falls to 37-year low of 160 against U.S. dollar

June 26 (UPI) -- The Japanese yen fell below 160 against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, its lowest point in more than 37 years as Tokyo scrambled to determine what appropriate intervention measures to take.

The record fall of the yen follows Japanese and South Korean national forecasters expressing alarm on Tuesday after the depreciation of their currencies. The United States had placed Japan on its watch list of currency manipulators last week.

The yen fell to 160.39 during London trading hours at one period, its lowest point since 1986. On April 29, the yen fell to 160.24 against the U.S. dollar, leading to intervention by Japan's central bank.

"I have a serious concern about the recent rapid weakening of the yen and we are closely monitoring market trends with a high sense of urgency," Masato Kanda, Japan's vice finance minister, said on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg . "We will take necessary actions against any excessive movements."

The Japanese government already spent $61.3 billion intervening in it currency markets from April 26 through May 29, selling treasuries to fund the intervention.

The Bank of Japan increased interest rates for the first time in 17 years in March in hopes it would strengthen the yen but the currency continued to struggle.