Japan Bought Record 6.27 T. Yen in April 30 Intervention

Tokyo, Aug. 7 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government and the Bank of Japan bought 6,278.7 billion yen for dollars in a foreign exchange market intervention on April 30, the largest-ever yen-buying operation in a single day, Ministry of Finance data showed Friday. The figure topped the previous record of 5,918.5 billion yen marked on April 29, 2024. According to the market intervention data for April-June, Japanese authorities carried out yen-buying, dollar-selling operations on a total of three days, all around the country’s Golden Week holiday period. Authorities purchased 780.2 billion yen on May 4 and 4,675.9 billion yen on May 6, bringing the three-day total to 11,734.9 billion yen. It was the first time for Japan to carry out currency market intervention since July 2024. The yen-buying operations were conducted as “stealth” interventions, without immediate announcements by authorities. The dollar plunged from above 160 yen to below 156 yen on the night of April 30 and weakened intermittently in May as well. Just ahead of the April intervention, Japanese Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama said that the time for the country to take “decisive action” against the yen’s depreciation was “approaching,” while Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs Atsushi Mimura issued a “final advisory” for market players to withdraw from yen selling. Nevertheless, the yen continued to slide vis-a-vis the greenback after the May interventions. On July 23, the dollar hit 163.99 yen, the highest level in about 39 years and eight months. In light of the development, Japanese authorities conducted a fresh intervention on July 30, U.S. Eastern time, and a coordinated intervention with U.S. authorities the following day. This was the first concerted yen-buying operation by the two countries in 28 years. Market estimates put the size of the July interventions at upward of 10 trillion yen. Data on Japan’s foreign exchange reserves as of the end of July, announced Friday, did not reflect changes caused by the latest market actions due to the settlement date. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]