Dollar steady before Jackson Hole, yen unmoved by BOJ Himino's remarks

The U.S. dollar traded in a narrow range on Thursday ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium, while the yen held steady after a Bank of Japan policymaker did not rule out a rate hike next month but stopped short of explicitly signalling one.

The euro EUR= was up 0.05% against the dollar at $1.1655, while the British pound GBP= eased 0.05% to $1.3586. The Australian dollar AUD= strengthened 0.18% versus the greenback to $0.718.

The yen JPY= was largely steady at 159.30 per dollar, little moved after BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino said timely rate hikes would help avoid an inflation spike that could force abrupt tightening later.

Himino, however, stopped short of language similar to that used ahead of the BOJ's January 2025 meeting to flag a rate hike in a speech and a subsequent press conference.

Market participants had been looking for clues on the likelihood of a September rate hike and the scale and pace of further tightening, with money market broker Totan Tanshi pricing in an 86% chance of a BOJ hike next month.