Japan's April yen-buying intervention sets fresh daily record

• Japan's Ministry of Finance revealed record single-day yen-buying intervention in April.
• On April 30, authorities sold approximately $39.64 billion (6.28 trillion yen) to support the currency.
• This intervention surpassed the previous record set on April 29, 2024.
• The intervention temporarily strengthened the yen from a low of 160.725 to around 155 per dollar.
• The yen later resumed its decline, reaching new 40-year lows in July.

Japanese authorities conducted a record single-day intervention in foreign exchange markets in April, selling approximately $40 billion worth of dollars to stem the yen's slide. Quarterly data from the Ministry of Finance revealed that the largest operation on April 30 involved 6.28 trillion yen, surpassing the previous single-day record set on April 29, 2024. The intervention, part of three days of operations between April 30 and May 6, helped lift the yen from a near two-year low of 160.725 per dollar to around 155 by May 6. However, the currency's broader downtrend was not reversed, and the yen resumed its slide, reaching 40-year lows below 163 per dollar in July. This prompted further intervention last week, this time in coordination with Washington.