Japan's Katayama: Conducted coordinated yen-purchasing intervention with US
Japan's Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Monday that Japanese authorities conducted coordinated Yen-buying intervention with the United States (US) on Friday, adding that officials will not hesitate to carry out more foreign exchange (FX) intervention with Washington, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Friday’s coordinated FX moves curbed disorderly Japanese Yen (JPY) swings. Bessent said that treasury will stay vigilant and maintain close communication with counterparts at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
Key quotes from Japan's Katayama
Conducted coordinated yen-buying intervention with U.S. on Friday.
Won't hesitate to carry out more forex intervention with U.S.
Intervention aimed at tackling recent excessive, disorderly yen moves.
Japan plans to use Federal Reserve’s foreign and international repo facility in future.
Japan remains vigilant and in close contact with U.S. Treasury counterparts.
No comment on forex intervention except Friday.
Market reaction
The Japanese Yen (JPY) attracts some buyers following the headlines. At the time of writing, the USD/JPY is down 0.62% on the day at 156.35.
Bank of Japan FAQs
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is the Japanese central bank, which sets monetary policy in the country. Its mandate is to issue banknotes and carry out currency and monetary control to ensure price stability, which means an inflation target of around 2%.
The Bank of Japan embarked in an ultra-loose monetary policy in 2013 in order to stimulate the economy and fuel inflation amid a low-inflationary environment. The bank’s policy is based on Quantitative and Qualitative Easing (QQE), or printing notes to buy assets such as government or corporate bonds to provide liquidity. In 2016, the bank doubled down on its strategy and further loosened policy by first introducing negative interest rates and then directly controlling the yield of its 10-year government bonds. In March 2024, the BoJ lifted interest rates, effectively retreating from the ultra-loose monetary policy stance.
The Bank’s massive stimulus caused the Yen to depreciate against its main currency peers. This process exacerbated in 2022 and 2023 due to an increasing policy divergence between the Bank of Japan and other main central banks, which opted to increase interest rates sharply to fight decades-high levels of inflation. The BoJ’s policy led to a widening differential with other currencies, dragging down the value of the Yen. This trend partly reversed in 2024, when the BoJ decided to abandon its ultra-loose policy stance.
A weaker Yen and the spike in global energy prices led to an increase in Japanese inflation, which exceeded the BoJ’s 2% target. The prospect of rising salaries in the country – a key element fuelling inflation – also contributed to the move.
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