The yen fell to as low as 141.70 against the dollar, but pulled back to 140.8 on profit-taking amid market guessing whether the US and Japanese central banks would intervene to cap the greenback's rise. Rumours also swirled in dealing rooms that China's central bank was selling dollars to cushion the falling yen.

``The latest we hear is that the Chinese are selling dollars for their own vested interest,'' a dealer said. The weakening yen and other Asian currencies have been causing a headache for China worried by the erosion of its export competitiveness.

Analysts said China was expected to reiterate during US president Bill Clinton's visit to Beijing beginning today that it would not devalue the yuan and spark off another round of massive devaluations across theregion.

``With Clinton in China for a week or so, we are not expecting anything big to happen in the forex market, and the yen should remain at satisfactory levels,'' said Jackqueline Done, regional economist with British financial house IDEA.

Dealers said nearly all Asian currencies fell when the yen wilted in early trading but recovered some of the losses when the Japanese currency pulled back.