Yen weakens after intervention-led surge ahead of BOJ policy decision

Yen weakens after intervention-led surge ahead of BOJ policy decision HONG KONG, July 31 : The Japanese yen came under renewed pressure on Friday after soaring in the previous session as Tokyo intervened in the currency markets before the Bank of Japan's policy decision. The dollar gained by as much as 0.45 per cent to 160.175 in early trades, after diving 2.4 per cent in its biggest single-day drop since January 2023 in the previous session. Japan conducted yen-buying, dollar-selling market intervention in New York session overnight, a market source told Reuters, pulling the sagging currency from four-decade lows. The BOJ is widely expected to keep short-term interest rates steady at 1 per cent, having just hiked in June, while delivering a hawkish signal as price pressures mount. That follows U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rates unchanged, which bruised the dollar as traders questioned whether the Fed's new chief was serious about containing inflation. The slow pace of rate hikes has been blamed for pushing the yen to a 40-year low, and most analysts polled by Reuters expect the BOJ to raise rates again to 1.25 per cent by year-end. "If you want to kind of intervene... it's probably quite a good time," Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank, said, citing a weaker dollar amid pressure at the front end of the U.S. rates market and positive risk sentiment. It also helps set the stage especially ahead of the BOJ where there is a risk that they may disappoint by not sounding hawkish enough, which could be a negative for the yen, he added. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major peers, was little changed at 100.6 after plunging 0.7 per cent in the previous session. It was heading for a 1.5 per cent drop for the week and a 1.2 per cent loss for the month. The euro stood at $1.1523, down 0.04 per cent so far in Asia, after climbing to a six-week high in previous session. Sterling traded flat at $1.34605. The Aussie and Kiwi dollar were roughly down 0.1 per cent, last at $0.70245 and $0.5875, respectively.