Yen strengthens past 157 per dollar for second straight session

The Japanese yen strengthened past 157 per dollar on Thursday, rallying for a second straight session as traders watched for signs of intervention while weighing prospects for more aggressive policy tightening by the Bank of Japan this year.

The move began late Wednesday during New York trading, stoking speculation that authorities had conducted a rate check, which typically precedes official intervention.

The yen sank to 40-year lows in late July amid wide interest rate differentials, growing fiscal concerns and elevated energy and import costs, shortly before Tokyo and Washington conducted a joint yen-buying operation.

Meanwhile, BOJ board member Hajime Takata raised the possibility of outsized or back-to-back rate hikes to contain rising inflationary pressures.

Governor Kazuo Ueda also said that policymakers need to pay greater attention to upside price risks when conducting monetary policy, signaling that a rate hike is likely later this month.