Overview
- Tokyo and Washington carried out coordinated yen-buying operations on Friday, driving the currency up from about 164 to roughly the 155–157 range versus the dollar.
- U.S. Treasury involvement was confirmed by official statements and reporting that showed Secretary Scott Bessent considering $5–10 billion of yen purchases and that the New York Fed helped execute trades.
- Bank of Japan data and market reports show Japan bought large sums of dollars to buy yen, with single-day estimates reaching into the tens of billions of dollars.
- Officials from both countries said they stand ready to act again, but traders and economists say the intervention only eases pressure temporarily unless the BOJ narrows the wide US–Japan interest-rate gap.
- The move eases import-cost pressure for Japanese households and reduces the risk of a disorderly sell-off in global assets, though it also raises the chance of rapid carry-trade unwinds that could hit equities, bonds and crypto if the yen moves again.