Bessent Pushes Back on Disorderly Yen Characterizations
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has downplayed recent yen fluctuations, calling them 'pretty well contained' and contradicting characterizations of disorderly market movements.
The dollar was trading near 160.15 yen shortly after his remarks on August 30, a level that had briefly dipped below the psychologically important 160 threshold just days earlier.
Barely a month ago, the US and Japan executed a joint currency intervention to prop up the yen, marking the first time Washington had stepped in to support the Japanese currency in almost three decades. The US deployed an estimated $5 to $10 billion equivalent as part of that effort, while Japan's Ministry of Finance reportedly expended a record $96.4 billion to stabilize the yen.
Bessent's measured tone is notable given what happened on July 31 when the coordinated action managed to push the yen back to roughly 155 from near a 40-year low around 164 per dollar.