Japan's Yen Posts Strongest One-Day Gain in Nearly Two Years Amid Official Intervention
The Japanese yen has experienced significant interventions by its authorities in recent years to support its value against the US dollar. The latest move saw the yen post its strongest one-day gain against the dollar in nearly two years, after what market sources said was official intervention during New York trading hours.
This comes after repeated warnings from Japanese officials that they were prepared to step into the foreign exchange market without prior notice. In fact, Japan's record currency support operations earlier this year saw authorities spend roughly $70 billion to stabilise the yen.
Going back further in time, on July 30, the yen strengthened by more than 3%, climbing to as high as 157.8 per dollar after touching a near 40-year low of 163.99 just a week earlier. Reuters reported that market participants attributed the sharp move to official yen-buying by Japan during New York trading hours.
Japanese authorities have been actively intervening in the foreign exchange market since 2022, when they returned to the currency market after the yen weakened beyond 143 per dollar. Since then, there have been several instances of intervention, including in April-May 2024, when Japan carried out its largest single-day yen-buying intervention on April 29, 2024.