Japan spends record $96B to stem yen’s decline

Japan spent a record 15.4 trillion yen ($96 billion) on foreign exchange interventions over the past month as authorities sought to halt the yen’s sharp depreciation, according to official data released Friday.

The Finance Ministry said foreign exchange intervention operations totaled 15.3993 trillion yen between July 30 and Aug. 26.

The amount surpassed the previous monthly record of $73.4 billion spent during three intervention rounds in April and May this year, according to Kyodo News.

It also exceeded market estimates that authorities had spent between $68.9 billion and $75.2 billion during the latest operations.

Japanese authorities entered the currency market on July 30 after the dollar rose as high as 163.99 yen on July 23, its highest level against the Japanese currency in around four decades.

Japan and the US then conducted a coordinated intervention during New York trading hours on July 31, marking their first joint operation in 15 years.

The coordinated move briefly pushed the dollar down to the lower 155-yen range. The US currency has since recovered and is trading at around 159 yen.

The yen has faced persistent selling pressure amid concerns about Japan’s fiscal outlook as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government pursues an expansionary spending policy without presenting detailed funding plans.

Demand for the dollar as a safe-haven asset amid uncertainty over the Iran war has also weighed on the Japanese currency.

A weaker yen raises the cost of imported energy, food and raw materials, adding to inflationary pressures on Japanese households and businesses.