Asia FX muted amid Fed jitters, yen rebounds on potential intervention

The dollar retreated slightly amid pressure from a yen recovery, although it still retained a bulk of its gains through April. Signs of sticky U.S. inflation saw markets steadily price out expectations of early rate cuts by the Fed, which boosted the dollar. 

Japanese yen rebounds, USDJPY tumbles from 160

The pair- which gauges the amount of yen required to buy one dollar- sank 1.8% to 155.48, after rising as high as 160.20 earlier in the day.

The reason for the pair’s decline was not immediately clear, although it could be potentially linked to government intervention. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

The yen had weakened sharply against the dollar in recent sessions, with the USDJPY pair blowing past levels that had attracted intervention in the past. This came following weak Japanese inflation data and middling signals from the Bank of Japan, while fears of higher-for-longer U.S. rates also weighed. 

But while the yen marked a strong rebound on Monday, the scope for more gains in the currency remained limited, especially ahead of a Fed meeting this week. 

Dollar weakens amid yen strength, Fed awaited 

The and fell 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, after rising sharply on Friday. 

The greenback was sitting on strong gains for April after traders largely priced out most expectations of early rate cuts by the Fed.