Forex
US and Japan Team Up to Intervene in Foreign Exchange Markets
The US and Japan jointly intervened in foreign exchange markets on July 31 to buy yen, a rare move driven by Washington's positive assessment of Bank of Japan Governor Ueda Kazuo's signals for an early interest rate hike.
According to multiple Japanese government officials cited by Kyodo News and the Mainichi Shimbun, the US took Ueda's remarks at a press conference following the BOJ's monetary policy meeting as a strong signal that he intended to raise rates at the September policy meeting.
The US side saw Ueda's comments as hawkish, with one senior Japanese government official stating that the BOJ had effectively been left with 'no option other than a rate hike' at its September meeting.