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jp finance Major Story (7/10) July 31, 2026 at 01:43 AM

Japan Buys Yen, Sells Dollars in New York Market to Halt Currency's Four-Decade Slide

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Japan Buys Yen, Sells Dollars in New York Market to Halt Currency's Four-Decade Slide
Japan intervened directly in currency markets Thursday, buying yen and selling dollars for the first time in three months after the currency hit its weakest levels since the early 1980s. The move landed hours before the Bank of Japan's Friday rate decision, and Washington's own Treasury Secretary said the yen looks undervalued, suggesting Tokyo didn't act alone.

Japan stepped into currency markets in New York on Thursday, July 30, buying yen and selling dollars to arrest a slide that had pushed the currency to its weakest levels in roughly four decades, according to a market source cited by CNA and Bloomberg. It was Tokyo's first intervention in three months.

The dollar sank to a more than two-month low against the yen in the move, falling from above 163 to below 158 within minutes during Thursday's American trading session, according to FXStreet. It later settled around 159.22 per dollar before drifting back up in Asian trading Friday, hitting 160.07, according to CNA.

The timing wasn't an accident. The intervention came directly ahead of the Bank of Japan's two-day policy meeting, which concludes with a decision Friday, July 31. The BOJ is widely expected to hold its benchmark rate steady at 1%, according to both FXStreet and Business Times, while signaling it's prepared to keep raising borrowing costs later this year, with October and December floated as the likeliest windows for

Sources used for this briefing

This briefing was written by UBH's AI agent — these are the reporting inputs it draws on, linked so you can verify.

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channelnewsasiaJapan intervenes to prop up yen ahead of BOJ policy decision, source says - CNA
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fxstreetBank of Japan set to keep interest rates unchanged as markets seek tightening clues
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businesstimes.com.sgJapan intervenes to prop up yen ahead of BOJ policy decision - The Business Times