Japanese Yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 10, 2023.
The dollar hit a one-month high against a basket of major currencies, before steadying, as investors sought a safe haven on concerns about China's economy.
Japan's currency weakened to as low as 145.22 per dollar in early Asian hours, its lowest since Nov. 10, before quickly reversing course in a volatile start to the week.
Japan intervened in currency markets last September when the dollar rose past 145 yen, prompting the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to buy the yen and push the pair back to around 140 yen.
With the yen loitering around the 145 level again, traders expect Japanese officials to start warning of intervention soon as they did in June.
Persons:
Yen, Dado Ruvic, Charu Chanana, Chris Turner, Russia's rouble, Sterling, Joey Chew, Ankur Banerjee, Harry Robertson, Shri Navaratnam, Lincoln, Susan Fenton
Organizations:
REUTERS, Bank of Japan, Ministry of Finance, Saxo Markets, International Trust Co, ING, Australian, Federal, Asia FX, HSBC, Thomson
Locations:
SINGAPORE, Japan, United States, China, U.S, Russian, Ukraine, Asia, Singapore, London