The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the U.S. Treasury bought ¥79.4 billion in yen in July to counter moves Treasury viewed as disorderly; the Fed reported no intervention in the quarter.
The New York Fed released its July-September report on Nov. 12. It said the July 31 spot transaction was funded by selling euros from the Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund.
The report said market participants were watching press reports that the New York Fed had requested indicative dollar-yen quotes. It described the checks as “solely on behalf of the U.S. Treasury.” The yen gained 2.3% against the dollar on July 30.
The report frames the purchase as Treasury business: the New York Fed can act for Treasury as its fiscal agent, while its work for the Fed’s System Open Market Account requires direction from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
Japan’s Ministry of Finance separately recorded ¥15,399.3 billion in dollar sales and yen purchases on July 30, July 31 and Aug. 3. Its quarterly table does not specify a time zone for those dates. In an Aug. 3 statement, the ministry described the coordinated U.S.-Japan purchase as occurring July 31 U.S. Eastern Time. It said the action aimed to curb excessive volatility and disorderly moves, following the U.S.-Japan Finance Ministers’ Joint Statement of September 2025. A previous breakdown of Japan’s intervention operations lists the amounts by date.
The New York Fed said the dollar fell 3.2% against the yen in the third quarter. From July 30 to Aug. 3, the exchange rate moved from around ¥164 to around ¥155 per dollar. The report said market participants viewed expectations of faster Bank of Japan rate increases and speculation about the Government Pension Investment Fund’s asset allocation as supportive of the yen. It described the unwinding of short-yen positions as amplifying the appreciation.
Reuters reported that the U.S. purchase was the first American yen-buying intervention since 1998. Japan Finance Minister KATAYAMA Satsuki said in an Aug. 3 statement that Japan would “not hesitate to conduct further joint intervention.” The ministry’s calendar schedules its next monthly intervention-data release for Nov. 30 at 5 a.m. ET (7 p.m. Japan time), covering Oct. 29 through Nov. 26; the schedule may change.
