The dollar weakened against the yen on Wednesday after top Japanese currency officials warned against what they described as rapid and speculative yen moves, while sterling fell after data showed UK inflation did not accelerate in January as expected.

The dollar fell 0.14% against the yen to 150.57, and was not too far from a three-month high hit against the Japanese currency on Tuesday. The dollar has added about 10 yen in price since the start of this year.

Japan intervened in the currency market three times in 2022 when the yen plunged to 32-year lows near 152 yen to the dollar, conducting rare dollar-selling, yen-buying intervention.

The dollar traded near three-month highs against major peers as traders again pushed back bets for the first Federal Reserve interest rate cut in 2024 following surprisingly hot U.S. inflation figures overnight.

Elsewhere, the British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2554, briefly touching a eight-day low against the dollar, after data showed UK inflation stood at an annual rate of 4.0% in January, unchanged from December.

The dollar index - which measures the U.S. currency against six major peers, including the yen, euro and sterling - traded 0.05% higher at 104.91, not far from Tuesday's three-month high of 104.96.

The euro edged 0.05% lower to $1.0703, after briefly dipping to a fresh three-month low of $1.0695.

Source : Reuters