Japan and US Unite Against Yen Slide

Japan and the United States conducted a joint intervention to prop up the yen on Monday, confirming reports from last week. The move marked a rare bilateral action to stem the currency's slide to fresh 40-year lows. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said that Japan 'will not hesitate' conducting further coordinated intervention with the US.

The joint intervention was the first since 2011's coordinated action to weaken the yen following the devastating earthquake in eastern Japan. The move underscored both countries' resolve to prevent a selloff in the yen and Japanese government bonds (JGBs) from causing global spillovers, such as adding upward pressure on already rising U.S. Treasury yields.

The BOJ's June rate hike to a 31-year high of 1% had little lasting impact on the yen's decline. Analysts say that Japan may have sold up to $58.97 billion in US Treasuries to buy yen when it intervened in New York markets last Thursday, according to BOJ data.