Japan and South Korea both stepped in to buy their currencies on Thursday in a rare coordinated intervention that marks an escalation in efforts to stem currency weakness, with signs of U.S. support growing on Friday. Japan conducted its yen-buying intervention in New York hours on Thursday, and Bank of Japan data suggested Japan may have sold as much as $58.97 billion to support the yen. South Korea's foreign exchange authorities were also selling dollars alongside Japan, a separate source said. Reuters reported that the U.S. Treasury had informed a number of banks that it may intervene in the yen market on Friday, and that banks should stand ready for future action. The intervention lifted the yen off recent 40-year lows, though it handed back some gains on Friday after the BOJ held interest rates steady at 1%.
Japan's yen-buying intervention and possible US support strengthen JPY against USD
South Korea's coordinated dollar-selling intervention strengthens KRW against USD