Suspected intervention rapidly weakens yen

The word 'intervention' was being bandied about on Thursday, as the yen made a blinding recovery from the lows seen after the release of weak trade data earlier in the session.

After the Fed's dovish policy announcement on Wednesday, in which the central bank maintained its rates and slowed its plans for increases, the Japanese markets rallied. Upon the release of the trade data, however, the Nikkei 225 fell into losses and USDJPY let go of the 113 handle it had been strapped to for several days.

Total export value from Japan fell 4% in February from a year earlier, with volumes relatively flat, rising just 0.2%. At its trough, the yen was worth JPY 110.77 per dollar, before the suspected intervention from the Bank of Japan.

Over the course of half an hour, the yen moved to a high of JPY 111.88 per dollar, though it had since come back slightly to JPY 111.71.