Yen Holds Steady Near 160-Dollar Level Amid Fading Intervention Impact

The yen held steady near the key 160-per-dollar level on Tuesday as the impact of U.S.-Japan intervention continued to fade. The Japanese currency was last at 159.20 per dollar, after weakening 0.9% on Monday and moving further away from the three-month high of 155.20 reached last week.

Speculators have cut bearish yen bets by the most in more than 12 years, with U.S. regulatory data showing the net short yen position fell by $8.865 billion to $3.604 billion in the week to August 4. However, analysts expect speculators to rebuild short positions.

The Reserve Bank of Australia kept its cash rate at 4.35%, as expected, but warned it may need to raise rates again due to persistent inflation fuelled by surging energy costs.