Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed plans to purchase $5 billion to $10 billion in Japanese yen during a cabinet meeting.
The U.S. Treasury purchased Japanese yen on Friday to support the currency, marking the first direct intervention by Washington in over a decade. The action followed a revelation from a notepad belonging to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which showed a "To Do" list to buy $5 billion to $10 billion in yen. This intervention occurred as the yen languished near 40-year lows, driven by factors such as rising oil prices. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York executed the purchase on behalf of the Treasury through Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The move was intended to stabilize markets and warn against speculative bets. Japan has also been actively intervening to support its own currency, with central bank data showing the country may have sold as much as $58.97 billion to buy yen on Thursday. The U.S. last directly supported the yen in 2011 during a coordinated effort with G7 nations. The purchase helped boost the yen, with the dollar dropping from approximately 158.9 yen to 157.6 yen during late afternoon trading.