Key facts
- The yen held onto most of its intervention-driven gains.
- Japan and the U.S. conducted a joint yen-buying intervention last week.
- The yen touched a three-month high of 155.20 per dollar.
- The Japanese currency had surged as much as 5% over the last three trading sessions.
- The dollar index bounced from a 1-1/2-month low.
The yen held onto most of its intervention-driven gains on Tuesday, following joint action by Tokyo and Washington last week to support the currency. The yen weakened slightly in early Asia trade to 157.35 per dollar, but remained well above its 40-year low and near a three-month high. The Japanese currency had surged as much as 5% over the previous three trading sessions after Japan confirmed coordinated yen-buying intervention with the United States. Analysts expect concerns about further intervention to constrain downside pressure on the yen in the near term. Against the euro, the yen held near an eight-month top. The dollar index bounced from a 1-1/2-month low, having slid in the wake of the yen-buying intervention and falling oil prices. Investors had sold the dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept rates on hold last week, with losses accelerating following the yen intervention. Markets are currently pricing in roughly 35 basis points worth of Fed rate hikes by December, with focus turning to Friday's jobs report.