Japan renews currency warning as dollar approaches 160 yen
Currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura said exchange-rate moves had been excessively fast, invoking Japan's summer interventions.
US Treasury bought yen in first such intervention since 1998
The New York Fed said it acted for the Treasury, while the Federal Reserve conducted no independent currency intervention during the quarter.
The US Treasury purchased 79.4 billion yen ($497.37 million) on July 31 in a coordinated effort with Japan to support its currency, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on November 12. It was Washington's first yen-buying intervention since 1998.
The New York Fed's quarterly account of currency operations said it executed the spot-market purchase for the Treasury, using proceeds from euro sales out of the Exchange Stabilization Fund. The operation targeted yen movements that the Treasury considered disorderly.
The Federal Reserve undertook no foreign-exchange intervention on its own initiative during the July-to-September quarter. The New York Fed also said dollar-yen rate checks that emerged in media reports on July 30 were conducted exclusively for the Treasury in its capacity as the government's fiscal agent.
Japan's Ministry of Finance intervened with 15.4 trillion yen during the quarter in coordination with the US operation, the New York Fed said. The ministry sought to address volatility and yen moves it regarded as excessive and disorderly.
On July 30, the yen gained 2.3% against the dollar. The dollar-yen exchange rate subsequently declined from about 164 yen per dollar to about 155 yen per dollar between July 30 and August 3, the report said. Following the joint action, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged US support for Japan's currency-stabilization efforts.