SINGAPORELONDON, Oct 4 Reuters The yen rose slightly on Wednesday, moving away from the closely watched 150 per dollar mark, after a shortlived surge in the previous session stoked speculation that Japanese authorities could have intervened to support the currency.

The Japanese currency was up around 0.12 at 148.93 per dollar in early European trading, after unexpectedly surging nearly 2 at one point on Tuesday to 147.30. The spike came after it slipped to 150.165 per dollar, its weakest since October 2022.

Meanwhile the dollar index , which tracks the greenback against six peers, was down 0.12 at 106.94. It remained close to the nearly 11month high of 107.34 reached in the previous session.

The euro rose 0.15 to 1.0483. But it did not stray far from Tuesday39;s low of 1.0448, its weakest level since December, triggering talk of a fall back to 1.

Japan39;s top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, said he would not comment on whether Tokyo intervened in the exchange rate market overnight, although he said that we have only taken steps that have the understanding of U.S. authorities.

Analysts were divided on the issue. Them stepping in here would be perfectly consistent with recent warnings from top officials and past behaviour, said James Malcolm, head of FX strategy at UBS.

Entering the market in size provides a strong signal and helps buy time for other things to fall into place that in the fullness of time then contribute to position unwinds.

Adam Cole, chief…