On Wednesday, as traders anticipated U.S. inflation data and its implications for more Federal Reserve rate rises, the dollar reached new 24-year highs against the yen.
breaking above levels that triggered intervention by Japanese policymakers last month.
Following Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey's reiteration that the institution will stop its emergency bond-buying programme on Friday, sterling fell to a fresh two-week low.
Bailey also instructed pension fund managers to complete position rebalancing by that date.
The Financial Times reported that the BoE has informally informed lenders that it is willing to extend its bond purchases, which helped the pound somewhat recover.
In Asian trade, the dollar gained 0.22% to 146.18 yen after reaching a high of 146.39 for the first time since August 1998.