SINGAPORE, March 20 Reuters The yen languished near a fourmonth low against the U.S. dollar and a 16year trough against the euro on Wednesday as traders wagered Japan39;s monetary settings will remain accommodative even as the central bank ends its negative interest rate policy.

While the Bank of Japan on Tuesday ushered in the country39;s first rate hike in 17 years, the central bank said it expected to maintain accommodative conditions for the time being, keeping pressure on the yen as U.S.Japanese rate differentials remain stark.

On Wednesday, the yen weakened to a fourmonth low of 151.58 per dollar and was last off 0.47 at 151.56, with the multidecade low of 151.94 within sight and the threat of intervention by Japanese authorities resurfacing.

I think the focus is again around 152 levels, said Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC, adding that there was a fair chance of seeing some smoothing if dollaryen continues to go higher towards 152.

Wong said the move for dollaryen in the near term will be more a function of U.S. rates with the Federal Reserve decision due later on Wednesday.

The yen39;s drop was broad based, with the currency weakening to 164.66 against the euro , its lowest since 2008, while against the pound, yen slipped to 192.75, its lowest since 2015. Japan markets are closed on Wednesday for a holiday.

In a historic shift from decades of massive monetary stimulus, the Japanese central bank on Tuesday ended eight years of negative…