U.S. and Japan Jointly Buy Yen for First Time in Nearly 30 Years; U.S. Treasury Secretary's Memo Reportedly Plans $5–10 Billion Purchase

Odaily News: A photograph taken by Reuters shows that during U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent's participation in President Trump's cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday local time, a "to-do list" on his notepad was exposed, reading "Buy Yen $5-10 billion." The photo was taken during the portion of the meeting open to the media, at 11:33 AM Eastern Time (11:33 PM Beijing Time). Bessent's nameplate was clearly visible just above the notepad. A U.S. Treasury spokesperson declined to comment on the notepad's contents or whether intervention measures were taken on Friday. According to the Financial Times, the U.S. Treasury intervened in the yen exchange rate on Friday local time, marking the first time in nearly 30 years that the U.S. and Japan have jointly supported the yen through direct purchase operations. Three sources revealed that the New York Fed executed an unusual operation on behalf of the Treasury—selling euros to buy yen, with two of the sources stating the trades were conducted through Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The U.S. Treasury had informed several Wall Street banks before the action that it was considering intervening in the yen. The last time the U.S. Treasury intervened in the yen was in 2011, but at that time the direction was to sell yen. (Jin Shi)