US joins Japan in yen-buying push after slide to 1986 low
Why it matters: Rare joint intervention lifted the yen to about 157.4 per dollar and could reshape carry trades and Treasury-market funding.
The United States joined Japan in buying yen after the Japanese currency slid to its weakest level against the dollar since 1986, marking an unusually coordinated move by the two allies. The yen strengthened to about 157.4 per dollar by late Friday in New York after jumping more than 3% intraday on Thursday and rising more than 1% Friday. Reports cited Japanese purchases of yen and sales of dollars, while the US Treasury used euros from its Exchange Stabilization Fund to help fund yen buying. CNBC reported Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is also pressing the Federal Reserve to expand a lending backstop that could let Japan defend the yen without disrupting the $29 trillion US Treasury market.