In currencies, the yen was stable in Asian hours at 156.35 per U.S. dollar but traders were left screen-watching as bouts of sudden spikes in the past few sessions spurred speculation about intervention from Japanese authorities.
Sources told Reuters that Tokyo intervened on Thursday last week, with money market data suggesting they sold about $35 billion to support the yen. Since then, the market has seen three abrupt spikes in the yen including on Wednesday, when it hit a 10-week high of 155 per U.S. dollar.
Japan faces no constraints on how often it can intervene in currency markets and is in daily contact with U.S. authorities, its top currency diplomat said on Thursday. Data later in the day could shed light on whether Tokyo had stepped into the market.
In the Middle East, Tehran is considering a U.S. peace proposal that sources said would formally end the conflict while leaving unresolved key U.S. demands that Iran suspend its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The crucial waterway has been effectively at a standstill since the war erupted at the end of February, sending oil prices surging and fanning inflation fears.
While the latest news on a possible peace deal weighed on oil prices, they remain at around the $100 per barrel level, well above where they were before the war started. The dollar too was on the back foot as risk sentiment improved.
Britain's local elections on Thursday are in the spotlight for global bond investors, wary that a poor showing for the ruling Labour Party could pave the way to an unwelcome leadership challenge and renew concerns about fiscal slippage.
