TOKYO - Japan intervened in the foreign exchange market on July 30, buying a record 7.98 trillion yen ($50.4 billion) to stem the Japanese currency's slide against the U.S. dollar, according to data released Monday by the Finance Ministry.
The July 30 intervention was part of a series of yen-buying, dollar-selling operations totaling 15.4 trillion yen on July 30, 31 and Aug. 3, data on foreign exchange intervention operations for the July-September quarter showed.
On July 31, Japan and the United States jointly intervened to buy yen for the first time in 28 years, with Japan spending the equivalent of 5.55 trillion yen, according to the data.
The interventions came after the yen weakened to the upper 163 range against the dollar in late July, its lowest level in 39 years and eight months, prompting authorities to step in on an unusually large scale.
The previous record for a yen-buying intervention was 6.28 trillion yen, set on April 30.
Following the interventions, the yen surged temporarily to the lower 155 range against the dollar on Aug. 3, its strongest level in about three months.
The yen gained further support after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Japan to tighten monetary policy.
On Sept. 8, the yen briefly strengthened to the 152 range against the dollar, its highest level in about six months.
The yen then lost ground, however, prompting the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan to conduct a so-called rate check late on Sept. 18 into the early hours of the next day, a move widely seen as a precursor to a possible yen-buying intervention.
Despite these measures, the yen weakened again, weighed down by the persistent interest rate gap between Japan and the United States. It has been trading in the 158 range against the dollar recently.
