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By Ankur Banerjee
SINGAPORE, July 3 (Reuters) - The yen remained hunkered just below the psychologically important barrier of 145 per U.S. dollar on Monday, while the dollar was on the back foot after U.S. economic data last week showed slightly easing inflation and consumer spending.
The yen weakened 0.09% to 144.45 to start the second half of the year, having lost 9% against the dollar in the first six months of the year.
Against the euro, the yen was hovering at 157.66, just under the 15-year low of 158 it touched last week. It rose to 183.58 per sterling, its highest since December 2015.
The Asian currency briefly passed 145 per dollar on Friday, hitting a near eight-month low of 145.07 as investors keep an eye on whether Japanese authorities will intervene in the currency market.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday Japan would take appropriate steps in response to excessive yen weakening, in the latest comment from government ministers and officials.
The comments from Suzuki helped curb the yen's losses on Friday.
"Intervention is best conceived of as an escalation ladder," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Forex.
"Among the highest rungs is the coordinated intervention... The low rungs on the escalation ladder are different types of verbal intervention."
Japan bought yen in September, its first foray in the market to boost its currency since 1998, after a Bank of Japan (BOJ) decision to maintain ultra-loose policy drove the yen as low as 145 per dollar.
It intervened again in October after the yen plunged to a 32-year low of 151.94.
Still, Japanese business sentiment improved in the second quarter as easing supply constraints and the removal of pandemic curbs lifted factory output and consumption, a central bank survey showed, a sign the economy was on course for a steady recovery.
Investor focus this week will be on the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's June meeting due on Wednesday.
The central bank decided to leave interest rates unchanged in its June meeting but hinted that borrowing costs may still need to rise by as much as half of a percentage point by the end of the year.
Economic data through last week painted a picture of resilient U.S. economy that eased recession worries but stoked expectations that the Fed will stick to its hawkish path.
But data on Friday showed cooler-than-expected inflation in May, while consumer spending abruptly decelerated, providing further evidence that the Fed's hikes are having their desired effect.
"The U.S. economy is not slowing as forecast," Citi strategists said in a client note. "Surprisingly strong job growth is keeping labour markets tight while providing the nominal spending power to drive services consumption."