US Treasury Intervenes in Yen Market for First Time in Over a Decade
The US Treasury has intervened in the foreign exchange market by buying yen to support the battered Japanese currency, which has been languishing near 40-year lows. This move marks Washington's first yen-buying intervention with Tokyo in over a decade.
According to the Financial Times, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York sold euros for yen on behalf of the Treasury through Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The exact amount of yen purchased is not specified. In contrast, Japan may have sold as much as $58.97 billion to buy yen on Thursday, central bank data indicated.
The US last directly supported the yen in 2011, coordinating with fellow Group of Seven nations to stabilize markets after Japan's earthquake and tsunami disaster. News of the potential intervention by the Treasury helped boost the yen, with a notable jump during late afternoon trading.