The Australian dollar jumped against the yen on Friday amid speculation Tokyo had intervened again, while expectations of rate hikes in Australia kept the Aussie buoyant on the US currency.

Talk of intervention swirled in the market after the Japanese currency bolted nearly a yen against the greenback in just one minute in the early afternoon.

Although Tokyo did not confirm it had intervened, the size and speed of the move convinced many it had. Traders are wary of any large yen sell order after Tokyo intervened last week by selling the yen in waves to knock it off a 15-year peak.

Fears that Tokyo would launch another bout of yen-selling helped Aussie reach as far as 81.10, from Thursday's 80.29. It had retreated to 80.51 at the local close.

"I suspect Tokyo did intervene but I'm not sure if it would be all that successful," said Jonathan Cavenagh, an analyst at Westpac.

Mr Cavenagh argued with many investors averse to buying the greenback right now for fear super-loose US monetary policy would ease even further, Tokyo could struggle to pull the yen down against the US currency.

"I don't think Tokyo will be all that successful in getting a dramatic move higher," he said.

Mr Cavenagh said he still predicts the Aussie to rise to 84 yen in the next two months, helped in part by the local unit's strength against the US currency.

Indeed, a robust domestic economy and expectations Australian interest rates could rise as soon as next month helped the Aussie dollar to hold ground at $0.9507, in sight of a two-year high.

It was up 1.3 percent for the week and 6.8 percent for the month.

Source: Reuters