Tokyo, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government and the Bank of Japan bought 7,975.6 billion yen for dollars in foreign exchange market intervention on July 30, the Ministry of Finance said Monday. This was the largest single-day yen-buying intervention conducted by Japanese authorities with an aim to prop up the country’s currency, surpassing the previous record of 6,278.7 billion yen purchased on April 30 this year, according to the intervention data for the July-September quarter. The Japanese authorities stepped into the market also on July 31 and Aug. 3, buying 5,552.3 billion yen and 1,871.4 billion yen for dollars, respectively. The total intervention amount over the three days came to 15,399.3 billion yen. The yen-buying operations, the first since late April to early May, during Japan’s Golden Week holiday period, were conducted as “stealth” interventions, with the authorities making no immediate announcements. In late July, the yen weakened to its lowest level in about 39 years and eight months, with the dollar rising close to 164 yen. After stepping in to buy yen for dollars single-handedly on July 30, Japan did so jointly with U.S. authorities the following day, the first concerted yen-buying market operation by the two countries in about 28 years. On Aug. 3, the dollar tumbled below 155.50 yen. At a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in September, U.S. President Donald Trump said that U.S. trade has been tough due to the yen’s depreciation. Takaichi, on her part, said that the yen’s undervaluation is a problem in general terms. Still, the dollar has been trading on a relatively firm note around 157-158 yen as inflationary trends reflecting Middle East tensions continue, concerns over the Takaichi administration’s expansionary fiscal policy linger and the gap between U.S. and Japanese interest rates remains wide. Meanwhile, Japanese Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama has said that the exchange rate situation appears to have improved compared with before the interventions conducted between late July and early August. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
