Japan steps into FX market as yen slides near 160 per dollar

Japan moved to buy yen and sell dollars in New York on July 30, according to a market source, marking its first currency intervention in three months as the yen neared four-decade lows. The dollar briefly fell to a more than two-month low against the yen on Thursday before the Japanese currency weakened again to 160.07 on Friday after touching 159.22. Top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura declined to confirm intervention but said Tokyo was getting support from the United States that went beyond “psychological support,” including reported rate checks. The move came before the Bank of Japan's policy decision, where markets widely expected rates to stay at 1% while officials signaled readiness for further tightening.