Japan, South Korea buy currencies as yen jumps to 157 per dollar

Japan and South Korea stepped into currency markets late July 30 in a rare coordinated push to support the yen and won, with the yen briefly strengthening to 157.24 per dollar in New York on July 31. Japanese government sources confirmed Tokyo bought yen and sold dollars, its first such move in three months, as the currency hovered near four-decade lows. Separate reports said US authorities conducted rate checks and the Treasury may have bought $5 billion to $10 billion of yen, which would mark the first joint Tokyo-Washington yen-buying operation in nearly 30 years. The Bank of Japan later kept rates steady at 1%, leaving markets focused on whether policymakers will tighten further.