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Symbolic image: US Treasury joins Japan in buying yenSymbolic image

US Treasury joins Japan in buying yen

5 sources

The US Treasury bought yen alongside Japan on Friday, its first such intervention since 2011, according to reporting by the Financial Times. The yen surged after Tokyo had already stepped in a day earlier.

What happened

  • Japanese authorities bought yen on Thursday, 30 July; Nikkei Asia puts the scale at up to $44bn.
  • Bloomberg cites Bank of Japan data suggesting purchases of about 8.45 trillion yen.
  • Reuters photographed Scott Bessent's Camp David notepad at 11.33am on Friday: "Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil".
  • Two hours earlier the Treasury had notified several banks it could intervene that day, Reuters reported.
  • LSEG data show the dollar falling from about 158.9 to about 157.6 yen late Friday, roughly 0.8%.

The view from outside

Bloomberg, cited by the Guardian, links the yen's slide partly to rising oil prices, a driver absent from the other reports, and frames Washington's backing of Tokyo as a new normal in coordination.

What could happen next

  • The Treasury has not said whether it intervened; a spokesperson did not answer Reuters' request for comment.
  • Whether the $5bn-$10bn noted on the list was executed, and in what size, remains unstated.
  • Nikkei Asia reports the Treasury told banks further yen intervention is possible.
  • The Bank of Japan held rates on Friday and, per Bloomberg, keeps a September hike in play.
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