Yen Slides Amid Fading Hope for Intervention

The yen is on track for its largest weekly decline since May, despite Tokyo's verbal efforts to support the currency. The Japanese government has pledged to stabilize the yen, but analysts believe even intervention would only provide temporary relief.

Unless the Bank of Japan raises interest rates more quickly, the structural forces driving down the yen will remain in place, said Christian Antúnez, global fixed income and FX associate at Lazard Asset Management. He added that 'intervention is fighting a fundamentals-driven move and will continue to buy time, not direction.'

The US Treasury Department has also weighed in on the issue, warning that excessive currency volatility is undesirable. The yen's weakness has pushed the dollar to a potential weekly gain of 0.89%, its largest since May.