Japan, US confirm joint yen intervention after 40-year low
What's new: The yen jumped above 155 per dollar, and both governments warned they could step back into currency markets.
Japan and the United States confirmed they jointly bought yen on Friday to halt the currency's slide after it fell to a 40-year low in July. Japan's Finance Ministry said the action aimed to counter excessive volatility and disorderly moves in the yen, while Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama warned that coordinated intervention could happen again. The yen rose more than 1% to 155.20 per dollar after Monday's announcement, its strongest level since early May. The move was rare: the last bilateral currency intervention between the two countries was in 2011. The action also drew attention to the Bank of Japan after it held rates steady on July 31 while signaling room for a future increase.