July 30 (Reuters) - The dollar weakened against the yen on Thursday ahead of a U.S. inflation report that investors will scrutinize to gauge the path for interest rates, a day after the Federal Reserve left markets guessing about its future monetary policy.
The yen JPY= popped 0.3% to a one-week high of 162.88 to the dollar, although traders said the spike did not reflect any signs of an intervention by Japanese authorities to halt the currency's slide to new multi-decade lows.
The dollar had risen against most major currencies early on Thursday after the U.S. said it was conducting air strikes in Iran, which generated appetite for safe havens among investors.
However, it came under pressure as the focus shifted to the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index due at 1230 GMT.
Economists expect the index to show price pressures rose by 3.7% on an annual basis in June, down from 4.1% the month before, as energy costs moderated during the brief détente between Iran and the U.S.
The euro EUR= was flat at $1.1477, while the dollar index =USD, which measures the dollar's strength against six other currencies, was muted at 100.67, having hit a one-week low in the previous session.
"Warsh's comments at the press conference also did not suggest the Fed is in a rush to hike, and he referred to a 'period of watchful thinking'," a group of analysts led by Mark Haefele at UBS wrote in a note.
"The market interpreted the FOMC statement and Warsh's comments dovishly," the UBS analysts said.
Traders are ramping up their expectations for the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged again in September, with the probability for a hold now at 34.8%, compared with a 24% chance before the latest meeting, the CME Group's FedWatch tool showed.
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