(Reuters) – The dollar rose to a seven-month high against the yen on Tuesday, with investors on the look-out for possible intervention by Japan to boost the ailing currency.
Meanwhile, the euro picked up against the dollar as investors listened closely to policymakers’ speeches at the European Central Bank’s annual forum at Sintra in Portugal.
The dollar rose almost 0.3% to 143.94 yen, its highest since Nov. 10, despite Japanese officials vowing to respond appropriately if currency moves became excessive.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday: “We will closely watch currency market moves with a strong sense of urgency and will respond appropriately if the moves become excessive.”
Japan intervened to boost the yen last year when it weakened past the 145 per dollar level. It has recently fallen sharply as U.S. interest rates have soared above those in Japan, making U.S. bonds look more attractive.
Many investors and analysts believe intervention is a possibility after the government stepped up its comments on the situation in recent weeks.
“If big data comes out of the U.S. in the next couple of weeks (and) dollar-yen spikes above 145, then I would think that the Bank of Japan would step in, or threaten to step in,” Francesco Pesole, currency strategist at ING, said.
The euro was last up 0.33% against the dollar at $1.094, after rising slightly on Monday.
“Euro-dollar is a bit stronger this morning, we had probably a bit of help from hawkish ECB (European Central Bank) comments this morning,” said ING’s Pesole.
Latvian central bank governor and ECB official Martins Kazaks said in Portugal on Tuesday that the central bank will likely keep hiking interest rates after July.
The euro zone’s key interest rate currently stands at 3.5%. Kazaks’ comments suggest they could go to 4% or higher.
ECB President Christine Lagarde also spoke in Sintra on Tuesday, saying that “policy needs to be decided meeting by meeting and has to remain data-dependent”.
The dollar index was 0.15% lower at 102.58, weighed down by the euro, which is its biggest component.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda are due to speak at a panel with Lagarde on Wednesday.
Investors also had U.S. data to look forward to, with durable goods orders and building permits figures due later on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, the Russian rouble weakened 0.61% versus the dollar to 84.91. It hit its weakest level since March 2022 on Monday at 87 roubles to the dollar.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he let an aborted mutiny go on as long as it did to avoid bloodshed. On Tuesday, Russia’s security service dropped its criminal case against the Wagner mercenary group over the brief rebellion.
Sterling was last trading at $1.272, up less than 0.1% on the day.
The dollar fell 0.31% against the offshore Chinese yuan to 7.22 on Tuesday, after hitting a 7-month high of 7.243 on Monday.
Investors braced for the possibility of more support measures after China returned from a holiday on Monday. China’s central bank set its daily yuan fixing stronger than market expectations for a second day in a row on Tuesday.
Sources said state-owned banks had been selling dollars in the offshore spot foreign exchange market, increasing speculation authorities were becoming less tolerant of yuan weakness.
