Japan confirms first currency intervention since 2022 | Wilnesh News

Japan’s Finance Ministry data on Friday confirmed the country’s first currency intervention since 2022 yen April fell to a 34-year low.

Japan’s Ministry of Finance said on Friday that Japan spent 978.85 trillion yen ($62.25 billion) on currency intervention between April 26 and May 29, according to a statement translated by Google.

According to records from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, this is the first time the Japanese government has taken such market measures since October 2022.

The government’s timeline for the measure coincides with the yen’s sharp rebound in recent weeks after falling to a 34-year low of 160.03 against the dollar on April 29.

Later in the session, the index rebounded to 156 points, fueling speculation that Japanese authorities may intervene. Within days, the currency appreciated further by over 2%.

At that time, analysts at Bank of America Global Research estimated based on Bank of Japan data that the size of the first suspected intervention could be between 5 trillion and 6 trillion yen ($32.7 billion to $39.2 billion).

The yen has been under sustained pressure since the Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate monetary policy in March. At 11:55 a.m. London time on Friday, it was trading at 157.25 against the dollar.

Earlier this month, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said intervention would be needed if large currency swings began to affect households and businesses. He declined to comment when asked whether the department had stepped in to support the yen.

“When there is excessive volatility, it may be necessary to smooth it out,” Suzuki told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on May 3, according to a translation.

The last time Japan intervened to stabilize the yen exchange rate was in October 2022, when the yen fell to a low of around 152 to the dollar. The authorities intervened three times that year to stabilize the currency. It is said Spending during the period totaled 9.2 trillion yen.