The slide in the yen back toward the key psychological 140 per-dollar level is reigniting chatter on the likelihood that officials will intervene to support the Japanese currency.

With traders refocusing on Japan’s interest-rate gap with the rest of the world amid a chorus line of hawkish Federal Reserve commentary, the yen has tumbled close to 4% this month and traded around the 138.50 level Tuesday. That’s a hair’s breadth from a fresh 24-year low and the 140 level which some market watchers have flagged as key for policymakers.