US and Japan Unite to Save Yen from Plummeting Exchange Rate

The Japanese yen may receive support from a coordinated intervention campaign between Tokyo and Washington. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama is expected to announce on August 3rd that Tokyo and Washington will coordinate the purchase of yen and sale of US dollars to support the exchange rate.

This would be the first time the U.S. and Japan have jointly intervened in the currency market since 2011, according to two Japanese government officials. The move comes after several rounds of yen purchases that traders believe involved authorities from both countries, amid the Japanese currency's plunge to its lowest level against the US dollar since 1986.

Earlier, Japan reportedly sold USD to buy Yen during trading in New York on July 30. This move came just hours before the Bank of Japan (BoJ) decided to keep its monetary policy unchanged but signaled it might raise interest rates in the near future to narrow the interest rate differential with the US.