By Kosaku Narioka
The yen strengthened sharply to its strongest level in 10 weeks, rekindling speculation over possible foreign-exchange intervention by Japan.
The Japanese currency on Wednesday afternoon shot up about 1.8% in a matter of less than half an hour to 155.02 to the dollar, its strongest level since Feb. 24, in an unusually sharp move.
"It's all but guaranteed that we have seen the MoF step in once more," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, in commentary, referring to Japan's Ministry of Finance.
Brown said that Japanese government officials had suggested possible intervention last week and that the yen surged without any apparent external catalysts on Wednesday.
The yen has been volatile in recent days, occasionally spiking during the day only to give up much of the gains within an hour.
This week is a holiday period in Japan, known as Golden Week, when trading volume is typically thin, helping to amplify the impact of any intervention efforts.
Last Thursday, the yen soared after sliding to levels rarely seen in the past four decades, which had prompted Japan's finance minister to step up warnings against currency speculators and signal potential intervention.
Japan likely intervened heavily in currency markets to support the yen on Thursday, data from the Bank of Japan indicated. Some media outlets reported that Japanese authorities had intervened in foreign-exchange markets to prop up the yen.
The Japanese economy relies heavily on imports of goods such as energy and food, which supports demand for foreign currencies. The Middle East conflict has disrupted the supply of energy and pushed up oil prices sharply, adding to pressure on currencies of oil-importing countries.
--Ronnie Harui contributed to this article.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 06, 2026 03:09 ET (07:09 GMT)
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