The yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday as markets braced to detect signs of Japanese government intervention in an effort to keep the yen strong. The dollar fell 0.18% on Tuesday morning to 144.44 yen, erasing part of its 0.27% gain from Monday.
Despite its latest uptick, the yen continues to hover near its almost eight-month low of 145.07 per dollar. In an effort to prevent further depreciation, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki warned against excessive selling of the currency.
In comparison, the euro was down 0.15% against the greenback at $1.089, while the sterling climbed 0.18% against the dollar to $1.271. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major world currencies, was little changed at 102.99.
Early on Tuesday, Japanese financial diplomat Masato Kanda revealed that officials had established close contact with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other foreign authorities in an effort to remain on top of developments in currencies and the broader financial market.