The yen jumped against the dollar, with analysts speculating it was partly the result of options expiring rather than Japanese authorities stepping into the market to counteract its weakness.

It strengthened as much as 0.2% to 151.21 per dollar following a bout of sustained depreciation that’s been driven by a persistently wide interest-rate gap between Japan and the US. Earlier, the yen traded to a year-to-date low of 151.91.

“I suspect it is the market doing it to itself, with the fear of BOJ intervention,” according to Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global.

The move also comes after the Bank of Japan further loosened its grip on government bond yields on Oct. 31, but stuck with its negative interest-rate policy, a decision that underwhelmed yen bulls. The currency’s decline this year has fed into an inflation rate that has been above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target since April 2022, putting pressure on it to normalize monetary policy.

Japan’s finance minister, Shunichi Suzuki, said earlier on Monday that policymakers would respond as needed to sudden moves in the yen. The nation’s top currency official, Masato Kanda, said on Nov. 1 that authorities were “on standby” when asked if he was prepared to intervene in the currency market or take other measures to curb the yen’s slide.

--With assistance from Carter Johnson.