US and Japan Team Up to Halt Yen's Record Slide

Japan and the United States coordinated an intervention in currency markets on Thursday to support the yen, which had hit a 40-year low against the dollar.

The joint effort involved Japan buying up yen while selling dollars in New York, its first such action in three months. The US also conducted 'rate checks,' preliminary signals often seen as precursors to direct intervention.

As a result of this coordinated effort, the yen surged 3.3% and reached a two-month high of 157.8 per dollar before settling higher on Friday.

This move comes amid growing concerns over the impact of yen weakness on Japan's economy, particularly with regard to import costs for energy and raw materials.