Japan, US buy yen together for first time since 2011
What's new: Tokyo may have spent up to $36.58 billion, and officials warned they could step back into currency markets.
Japan and the United States carried out coordinated yen-buying intervention last week, marking the first joint move of its kind since 2011 as Tokyo tried to stop the currency from sliding to a 40-year low. Japan’s finance ministry said Monday the two countries could take further action if needed. Central bank data suggested Japan may have spent as much as $36.58 billion in Friday’s operation, while the US Treasury reportedly sold euros to buy yen. The yen jumped more than 1% to 155.20 per dollar after the confirmation, before easing to around 157 later in the day. Officials said the move was meant to counter disorderly market swings and limit spillovers to Japanese government bonds and US Treasury yields.