Currency strategists have a radically new view of the course of the yen in the wake of the Bank of Japan’s July rate hike and recent signals from the Federal Reserve about impending cuts in US borrowing costs.

Before the BOJ’s July 31 decision, many strategists had warned of further weakness in the beleaguered yen, which had already fallen about 12% against the dollar in the first half of the year. Bank of America, ATFX Global Markets and Royal Bank of Canada all warned in June that Japan’s market intervention may not halt the slide, leaving the yen vulnerable to another run past 160 against the greenback.