SINGAPORE, Oct 23 Reuters Japan39;s yen took the spotlight in Asia on Monday, weakening briefly to the 150perdollar level as investors betting on a further rise in dollar yields lost out to those expecting Japanese authorities will intervene in markets.

The risk of Israel39;s war on the Islamist group Hamas becoming a wider regional conflict kept markets on edge, as Israeli air strikes battered Gaza early on Monday, and the United States dispatched more military assets to the region.

U.S. Treasuries were subdued as investors hunkered down for a European Central Bank meeting and U.S. GDP data later in the week.

Tenyear yields were around 4.98, having briefly popped above 5 last week after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy39;s strength and hot labour markets might warrant tighter financial conditions.

The dollar index added 0.1 to 106.28, with the euro down 0.2 at 1.0574.

The Japanese yen last traded at 149.93 per dollar, after briefly easing early on Monday to 150.14, a level last seen on Oct. 3 when traders had suspected the Bank of Japan BOJ intervened to nudge it to the stronger side of 150.

Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo, said it seems like a set of investors were betting the BOJ will defend the 150 level, even as others saw rising U.S. yields as a reason to keep pushing the dollar up.

Potentially there are two camps out fighting around 150, so that39;s why dollaryen doesn39;t move from here,…