FOREX-Dollar regains momentum as yen loses ground

Investors continue to be focused on the pace and timing of Fed rate cuts that will likely drive currency moves, with the latest weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data and an easing bias from the U.S. central bank cementing expectations that rates will likely be lower by the end of the year. While Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Tuesday it is too soon to declare that inflation has definitely stalled out, that did little to move the needle on market pricing for rate cuts.

The dollar was back on the front foot on Wednesday, making modest gains after earlier losses from renewed bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, while the yen weakened past 155 per dollar and kept intervention risks from Tokyo high. The yen fell 0.3% to 155.16 per dollar, edging away from its peak of 151.86 hit last week on the back of suspected intervention from Japanese authorities to prop up the sliding currency.

Analysts have said that any intervention from Tokyo would only serve as a temporary respite for the yen, given stark interest rate differentials between the U.S. and Japan remain. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Wednesday the central bank may take monetary policy action if yen declines affect prices significantly, while the country's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki repeated a warning that authorities were ready to respond to excessively volatile moves in the currency market.

"If we were to see a sudden, sharp move up in dollar/yen then I would expect them to step into the market to support the yen. But if we continue to see a gradual move up, I doubt they'll come in, but there's obviously a risk," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The euro fell 0.13% to $1.0741, while the New Zealand dollar edged 0.17% lower to $0.5992.

Against a basket of currencies, the greenback rose 0.12% to 105.55, pushing some distance away from a roughly one-month low it hit last week. Investors continue to be focused on the pace and timing of Fed rate cuts that will likely drive currency moves, with the latest weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data and an easing bias from the U.S. central bank cementing expectations that rates will likely be lower by the end of the year.

While Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Tuesday it is too soon to declare that inflation has definitely stalled out, that did little to move the needle on market pricing for rate cuts. "The market brushed off comments from Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari, who sits at the hawkish end of the spectrum and is a non-voter this year," said Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank.

Elsewhere, sterling eased 0.18% to $1.2487, ahead of the Bank of England's policy decision on Thursday, where focus will be on how soon the central bank could begin cutting rates. Analysts expect the central bank to leave the door open to lower interest rates as early as June.

The Australian dollar fell 0.33% to $0.65765, pressured in part by a less hawkish outlook from the Reserve Bank of Australia than anticipated after it held interest rates steady on Tuesday.

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