The United States and Japan jointly intervened in the foreign exchange market for the first time since 2011. The two countries coordinated yen-buying action on July 31, marking a rare moment of currency cooperation not seen in a decade and a half.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama publicly confirmed the intervention on August 2-3. The yen had been sinking to 40-year lows, approaching 163-164 against the dollar.
What actually happened, and why it matters
Japan injected an estimated $53-59 billion into forex markets through yen purchases. The US participated through direct yen buys facilitated by the New York Fed.
Japan had been trying to stabilize its currency through unilateral interventions, but those solo efforts produced limited results. The yen kept sliding, driven by a widening gap between US and Japanese interest rates.
