US Intervenes in Yen Market with $5-10 Billion Purchase

US President Donald Trump announced that his country has intervened in Japan's currency market to prop up the yen from its 40-year low against the dollar. The rare bilateral intervention was done as a 'signal of friendship' and aimed at reversing the continuing weakening of the yen.

The US Treasury Department sold euros for yen on behalf of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, with an estimated $5-10 billion purchase. Trump stated that supporting the yen would be 'good for the world economy', and the US would benefit financially from the move.

Japan's Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said the action countered excessive volatility in the Japanese yen in recent months. The Bank of Japan had intervened in the markets to boost the yen earlier this year, but analysts are skeptical that this latest intervention will fundamentally alter the yen's weakening trend.