Japan intervenes in currency market for the first time in 2022 with a budget of $62 billion.
- The Japanese yen reached a 34-year-low in April, prompting the country's first currency intervention since 2022, as confirmed by data from the Ministry of Finance.
- On Friday, the finance ministry announced that Japan spent 9.7885 trillion yen ($62.25 billion) on currency intervention from April 26 to May 29, according to a Google translation of the statement.
Japan's Ministry of Finance confirmed the country's first currency intervention since 2022, following the yen's 34-year-low in April.
On Friday, the finance ministry announced that Japan spent 9.7885 trillion yen ($62.25 billion) on currency intervention from April 26 to May 29, according to a Google translation of the statement.
Since October 2022, the Japanese government has not implemented a market measure of this kind, according to ministry records.
The Japanese currency has experienced a sharp rebound in recent weeks, coinciding with the government's timeline, after it plummeted to a 34-year-low of 160.03 against the U.S. dollar on April 29.
The currency's value increased by more than 2% within days, sparking speculation about potential intervention by Japanese authorities.
Based on Bank of Japan data, analysts at Bank of America Global Research estimated that the first suspected intervention could have been between 5 trillion and 6 trillion yen ($32.7 billion to $39.2 billion) at the time.
Since the Bank of Japan ended its monetary policy of negative interest rates in March, the yen has been facing sustained pressure. At 11:55 a.m. London time on Friday, it traded at 157.25 against the U.S. dollar.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki supported interventions if significant currency fluctuations affected households and businesses. However, he did not respond when asked if the ministry had taken action to support the yen at the time.
According to a translation, Suzuki stated on May 3 that when there is too much movement, it may be necessary to calm it down, as told to CNBC's Dan Murphy.
Japan intervened in the currency market in October 2022, when the yen reached lows of approximately 152 per dollar. The authorities intervened three times that year, spending a combined 9.2 trillion yen to stabilize the currency.
Asia Economy
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