Japan and US Spent Record $98.7 Billion in Coordinated Yen Intervention Over Past Month

Japan's finance ministry disclosed that it spent a record $98.7 billion over the past month propping up the yen, in a rare coordinated move with the U.S. Treasury, the first joint U.S.-Japan yen-buying operation since 1998. The yen had slid to its weakest level in nearly four decades, touching around 163.73 per dollar, before the intervention lifted it to roughly 157 per dollar.

Adding an unusual twist, the New York Fed reportedly sold euros rather than dollars to fund the yen purchases. Markets are also watching Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's keynote at the Jackson Hole summit later Friday, which has kept EUR/USD traders cautious after a week of dollar recovery. Separately, India's foreign exchange reserves climbed to a record $729.33 billion, and emerging-market currencies broadly hit new highs ahead of the Jackson Hole gathering.