Yen Surges on Bets for BOJ Rate Hikes as Markets Await US Payrolls Report

The yen continued its upward trajectory on Thursday, rising almost 1.5% to a high of 156.36 per dollar, its strongest in a month.

Markets were initially wary of Japanese intervention, but analysts suggested the move was more orderly than usual.

According to Kazumasa Ishii, a strategist at UBS SuMi Trust Wealth Management, there's 'little incentive' for the Japanese government to intervene at this moment, citing limited signs that dollar/yen could scale a new multi-decade high in the near term.

Hajime Takata, a Bank of Japan board member, said on Wednesday that the central bank should conduct interest rate hikes nimbly to counter intensifying inflationary pressures, rather than adhere to a fixed semiannual pace anticipated by markets.