Japan spent a record 2.8 trillion yen ($19.7 billion) on its currency market intervention last week to prop up the yen, finance ministry data showed on Friday, draining almost 15% of the funds it has readily available to intervene.
The figure was lower than the 3.6 trillion yen estimated by Tokyo money market traders for Japan’s first dollar buy-and-sell intervention in 24 years to stem the currency’s weakening.
It is believed that the ministry’s figure, indicating total spending on currency intervention from 30 August to 28 September, was used entirely for the 22 September intervention.
The mark surpasses the previous record of 2.62 trillion yen used in intervention in the sale of dollars and purchase of the Japanese currency in 1998. Confirmation of the dates of the expenses will be released in November.
The intervention, carried out after the yen fell to a 24-year low of nearly 146 to the dollar, triggered a sharp jump of more than 5 yen to the dollar from that low, although the currency has already retreated back to around 144.25. per dollar.
Japan held about $1.3 trillion in reserves, the second-largest amount after China, of which $135.5 billion was held in deposits with foreign central banks and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), according to with foreign reserve data released on September 7.
These deposits can easily be leveraged to fund further interventions through selling dollars and buying yen.
Source: CNN Brasil
Joe Jameson, a technology journalist with over 2 years of experience, writes for top online news websites. Specializing in the field of technology, Joe provides insights into the latest advancements in the industry. Currently, he contributes to covering the world stock market.
