Bessent Dares Traders to Bet Against Him on Japan's Yen-Intervention Playbook
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claims to have an inside track on Japan's yen-intervention playbook, saying he has a strong grasp of how the Bank of Japan and Japanese policymakers will respond in any market intervention aimed at strengthening the yen.
Bessent made these comments during an event at Southern Methodist University in Texas, where he also defended his approach to intervening in foreign-exchange markets.
The yen has recently continued its gains even without confirmed additional intervention, with expectations for a BOJ rate hike and the dollar-yen rate's fall below 155 adding momentum to the yen's advance. The BOJ is leaning toward a 0.25-percentage-point rate increase on September 18, leaving open the possibility of accelerating the pace of rate hikes depending on inflation.
Bessent has repeatedly signaled that he prefers Japan to address yen weakness through BOJ rate increases rather than repeated intervention in the foreign-exchange market.