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Dai Sato, senior vice president at Mizuho Corporate Bank (MCB), told Dow Jones Newswires that the dollar-yen rate had been influenced by buying demand for the greenback from importers.
Investors picking up options contracts when the dollar stood at between 79.50 yen and just over 80 yen also had a major impact on forex trading, he added.
Mr Sato commented: "There's no doubt that the dollar is supported by these various [sources of] buying demand."
But despite this, the MCB executive told forex traders: "There's no clear reason to keep bidding the yen."
At 06:10 BST the dollar was worth 80.27 yen, while the euro stood at $1.4605.
Meanwhile, the sterling fell to a one-month low against the European single currency, with Reuters attributing the result to data from the UK that suggested interest rates are set to remain as they are for the foreseeable future.
Posted by Greg Secker
