A Reuters photo taken at a Camp David cabinet meeting in Maryland at 11:33 a.m. EDT showed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's notepad. The note showed the words "To Do," followed by "Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil." The Treasury had earlier alerted several banks to the possibility of yen-market intervention and told them to "stand ready for future action," according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Financial Times said U.S. officials bought yen during Friday trading to assist the ailing currency, meaning Washington had not taken part in a direct yen-buying operation with Tokyo in over ten years. The newspaper did not specify how much yen was bought. Before this, the U.S. had last bought yen directly in 2011, coordinating with other Group of Seven members to calm markets after Japan's earthquake and tsunami. That 2011 operation underscores how rare joint action is; Tokyo has since intervened repeatedly on its own, including Thursday.
The Treasury had no immediate response to the FT story or the notepad image. Neither the New York Fed nor Morgan Stanley responded to after-hours queries, and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
Japan has been fighting the yen's decline largely on its own for years, which makes the reported U.S. purchase on Friday especially notable. The scale of Japan's struggle is evident: despite repeated interventions, the yen remains near 40-year lows, with the dollar having climbed to almost 164 yen in recent weeks.
Get the market news that matters in a five-minute read with Market Briefs, our free daily newsletter
The yen was languishing near 40-year lows. The dollar had climbed in recent weeks to almost 164 yen, a level not seen since 1986.
Central bank figures released Friday suggested Tokyo may have spent up to $58.97 billion on Thursday buying yen, underscoring how often it has tried to slow the currency's decline. According to the Nikkei, Japanese authorities intervened once more during New York trading on Friday.
Word that Washington might step in gave the yen a lift, with a sharp move late in the afternoon. LSEG data showed the dollar falling to about 157.6 yen shortly before 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), down from roughly 158.9 yen around 4:14 p.m.
Kyodo News said Saturday, citing people with knowledge of the matter, that Washington and Tokyo could announce a package by early next week intended to curb pressure on the yen. The move would be meant to deter speculators whose bets have weighed on the Japanese currency and to steady markets, according to the report.
Officials at Japan's Finance Ministry were not available for comment during off-hours. Apparently seeking to ease concerns about Tokyo's ability to fund repeated intervention, the ministry said on X that it has "a broad range of tools to address market liquidity needs." It added: "We remain prepared to use available tools as necessary to support orderly market functioning," including the option of tapping the Federal Reserve's standing FIMA Repo Facility.
Set up in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, the FIMA Repo Facility lets Japan obtain dollar funding without selling its U.S. Treasury holdings, which could relieve funding constraints on yen intervention.
Join Market Briefs, our free daily newsletter, for a quick daily rundown of the markets
