Yen Surges on Hawkish BOJ Repricing

The Japanese yen surged on Thursday, extending its gains from the previous session, but traders attributed this move to hawkish repricing of domestic rate expectations rather than any intervention from Tokyo.

The yen rose to an intraday peak of 157.95 per dollar in Asia, with a broad-based rally that saw the euro fall 0.38% to 183.27 yen and sterling drop 0.36% to 213.21 yen.

Kazumasa Ishii, a strategist at UBS SuMi Trust Wealth Management, said 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.

The renewed strength in the yen follows hawkish comments from Bank of Japan board member Hajime Takata, who suggested the central bank should conduct interest rate hikes nimbly to counter intensifying inflationary pressures.