Yen Surges as Traders Suspect Government Intervention

The yen's sudden jump on Wednesday has put it in the spotlight, with traders suspecting that government authorities may have been behind the move. The currency was last steady at 158.88 per dollar, having jumped 0.9% overnight.

Market participants are on alert for an official intervention from Tokyo, but Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said 'The yen rally was about 0.9% and it's not a big move, and I definitely don't think that was an intervention.'

The rally was broad-based, with the euro falling roughly 1% against the yen on Wednesday; sterling dropped 1.15%, with both currencies nursing losses in early Asia trade.

The strength of the yen has left the US dollar on the back foot, with the euro up marginally to $1.1589 and sterling attempting a bounce from a three-week low.