US, Japan buy yen in first joint currency intervention in decades
What's new: The yen briefly strengthened to 157.24 per dollar after reported US purchases of $5 billion to $10 billion.
The United States joined Japan in buying yen and selling dollars, marking the first joint effort by Tokyo and Washington in nearly 30 years to support Japan’s currency. The move followed a sharp slide in the yen to near four-decade lows, which has driven up import and energy costs in Japan. The yen briefly strengthened to 157.24 per dollar in New York on Friday, its strongest level since mid-May. Reuters reported a photo of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s notepad showed a plan to buy $5 billion to $10 billion in yen. The Financial Times reported the New York Fed sold euros to buy yen on the Treasury’s behalf, while Japanese authorities also intervened for a second straight day.