The Japanese yen is poised for a fourth consecutive day of gains against the US dollar. This follows a coordinated intervention by the US and Japan that helped lift the yen from four-decade lows, with officials from both nations expressing a firm commitment to continue defending the currency.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was largely unchanged on the day. US Treasuries received a boost, supported by a sharp decline in oil prices and statements confirming that Japan's hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign exchange intervention would not be financed by selling US debt.
USD/JPY fell 0.3% to 156.93, as the yen extended its rally following the first joint US-Japan intervention in 15 years. The exact amount the US contributed to support the yen remains unclear. However, the magnitude of the yen's rebound suggests the intervention may have surpassed the scale of previous joint efforts in 1998 and 2011, when the US did not deploy more than $1 billion.
Estimates indicate Japan alone may have spent $53 billion in a single day last Thursday, potentially setting a new single-day record. EUR/USD declined 0.2% to 1.1505, while EUR/JPY dropped 0.5% to 180.58. Strategists suggest the US Treasury may have purchased yen using euros rather than dollars to avoid depreciating its own currency and calling its strong dollar policy into question.
GBP/USD weakened 0.5% to 1.3422. USD/CAD rose 0.2% to 1.4048, and USD/CHF increased 0.5% to 0.8113.
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