Key facts
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's notepad showed a plan to buy $5-10 billion in Japanese yen.
- Japanese authorities intervened in the yen market earlier on Friday.
- The U.S. Treasury confirmed it intervened in the yen market by purchasing yen.
- The dollar fell approximately 0.8% against the yen in late afternoon trading on Friday.
The U.S. Treasury stepped into the currency market to support the Japanese yen, marking Washington's first intervention alongside Tokyo to support the currency in over a decade. A photograph of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's notepad during a cabinet meeting revealed a 'to-do' item to buy $5 billion to $10 billion worth of Japanese yen. Earlier on Friday, Japanese authorities had already intervened in the yen market. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, acting on behalf of the Treasury, conducted a sale of euros to buy yen through Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. News of the potential intervention helped push the yen higher, with the dollar dropping about 0.8% from around 158.9 yen to 157.6 yen in late afternoon trading.