Yen higher after suspected intervention

By Karen Brettell

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The yen gained on Thursday, following a sudden rally late on Wednesday that traders and analysts attributed to intervention by Japanese authorities, while the dollar was broadly lower before key jobs data on Friday.

The sharp move in the yen on Wednesday came in a quiet period for markets after Wall Street had closed, and hours after the U.S. Federal Reserve had wrapped up its policy meeting.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell confirmed the central bank's expectation to cut rates, but acknowledged such a move would come later than expected due to stubbornly high inflation.

The dollar eased, however, due to the Fed not adopting a more hawkish tone that included the potential for further rate hikes.

The timing of the intervention was "pragmatic," as “volumes were light, liquidity was thin, and it’s easier to make an impact at that time,” said Brad Bechtel, global head of FX at Jefferies in New York.

The dollar was last down 0.9% at 153.09 yen..

Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs, Masato Kanda, who oversees currency policy at the Ministry of Finance, told Reuters he had no comment on whether Japan had intervened in the market.

Wednesday's volatility came after a similar move on Monday, which was also during a time of light trading.

“Clearly they want to make as much as an impact and do it as efficiently as possible,” said Bechtel.

The Bank of Japan's official data indicated Japan may have spent 3.66 trillion yen ($23.59 billion) on Wednesday and 5.5 trillion yen ($35.06 billion) supporting the currency on Monday to pull it back from new 34-year lows.

While the supposed interventions may buy Japan some time, the trend is likely to remain negative for the Japanese currency until the U.S. economy slows and as long as the Bank of Japan disappoints traders on how far it is willing to raise rates.

The dollar remains up more than 10% against the yen this year, as traders push back expectations on the timing of a first Fed rate cut, while the BOJ has signaled it will go slow with further policy tightening after raising rates in March for the first time since 2007.

The next major U.S. economic focus that could drive further moves in dollar/yen will be Friday’s jobs report for April, which is expected to show that employers added 243,000 jobs during the month.

"A lot hinges on tomorrow’s jobs report," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York.

A weaker number would give Japanese authorities relief, and likely pull Treasury yields and the dollar lower. A strong report, however, could send yields and the greenback higher and increase the risk of further interventions.

If 10-year Treasury yields approach the 5% region, "I’d say the dollar/yen is going to come under more pressure," said Chandler. "It’s all about what happens with U.S. rates - we’re sort of the big moving piece."

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were last at 4.57%.

Data on Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits held steady at a low level last week.

The dollar index fell 0.38% to 105.31, while the euro gained 0.17% to $1.0728.

The dollar weakened 0.59% to 0.91 Swiss francs after Swiss annual inflation in April accelerated faster than expected.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 3.56% to $59,319.

(Reporting By Karen Brettell; Additional reporting by Samuel Indyk in London; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Jonathan Oatis)