Yen Stabilizes After Joint Intervention

The yen maintained most of its gains after last week's joint intervention by Tokyo and Washington to support the currency, keeping speculators cautious about rebuilding bearish positions. Despite slipping 0.4% to 157.8 per dollar, it remained well above its 40-year low of 163.99 touched in July.

Analysts at MUFG believe that joint intervention may only provide temporary support for the yen, and a change in fundamentals is necessary for a sustainable reversal of the weakening trend that has been in place over the last five years.

The U.S. Treasury bought yen for euros instead of selling dollars last week, a highly unusual move likely aimed at helping Japan strengthen the yen without encouraging a softer dollar.