The Bank of Japan (BOJ) announces an increase in interest rates after Japan confirms a $36.8 billion currency intervention to strengthen the yen.

• Official data published Wednesday revealed that Japanese authorities spent 5.53 trillion yen ($36.8 billion) to strengthen the yen in July.
• The amount was roughly in line with expectations and followed repeated warnings from Japanese authorities that they would intervene to curb excessively volatile currency fluctuations.
• Japan recently intervened in the foreign exchange market after the yen reached a 38-year low against the U.S. dollar.

Official data published Wednesday revealed that Japanese authorities spent 5.53 trillion yen ($36.8 billion) to strengthen the yen in July.

The Ministry of Finance in Japan released financial data for the time frame from June 27 to July 29.

The amount was roughly in line with expectations and followed repeated warnings from Japanese authorities that they would intervene to curb excessively volatile currency fluctuations.

Japan recently intervened in the foreign exchange market after the yen reached a 38-year low against the U.S. dollar. The Japanese government confirmed the country's first round of currency intervention since October 2022 in late May.

On Wednesday, Japan's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to "around 0.25%" from its previous range of 0% to 0.1%, marking the Bank of Japan's highest interest rates since 2008 amid currency weakness.

The Japanese currency, yen, experienced a sharp rise after the BOJ's decision and was last seen trading at approximately 150 per dollar. This is a significant change from the beginning of the month when the yen fell to 161.96 per dollar, marking the first time since December 1986.

Since March, when the BOJ ended its negative interest rate policy, the yen has been facing sustained pressure.