Yen rises to 153 during Tokyo hours as U.S. consumer inflation eases

TOKYO -- The Japanese yen strengthened to 153.57 against the dollar during Tokyo trading hours on Thursday after data released the day before showed U.S. consumer inflation cooled in April, stoking investor speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve could cut its policy rate in the fall.

The Japanese currency had been trading around the 156 level even after the government likely intervened to shore up the yen in late April and early this month. The recent surge took the yen to its highest level since May 6.