Yen intervention impact fades while Aussie dollar holds steady after interest rates held

The yen hovered close to 160 per dollar on Tuesday as the impact of U.S.-Japan intervention continued to fade while the Australian dollar held near an eight-week high after the central bank left interest rates unchanged, as expected.

The Japanese currency was last at 159.1 per dollar, slightly stronger on the day. It had weakened by 0.9% on Monday, moving further away from last week's three-month high of 155.20 after the rare U.S.-Japan yen-buying intervention at the end of July.

The intervention came after the yen sank to a 40-year low of 163.99 per dollar. It has since surrendered nearly half of those gains, leaving traders betting it is a matter of when, not if, authorities step back into the market.