US and Japan buy yen together, lifting currency to 157 per dollar

The United States joined Japan in buying yen and selling dollars, helping drive the Japanese currency to as strong as 157.24 per dollar in New York trading Friday after it had hovered near four-decade lows days earlier. Reuters reported a photo from a Cabinet meeting showed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's handwritten note: “Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil.” Japanese government sources confirmed a second day of intervention, while the Financial Times reported the New York Fed sold euros to buy yen on the Treasury’s behalf. The rebound followed a sharp slide in the yen that had worsened Japan’s import-driven inflation and pushed officials toward rare coordinated action.