Bessent ‘to-do’ list shows proposal for US to buy $5bn-$10bn of Japanese yen

A photograph taken by Reuters during a cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday revealed a notepad belonging to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with the proposal to buy $5 billion to $10 billion worth of Japanese yen. The notepad, visible to Reuters photographer over Bessent's shoulder, bore the words "To Do" followed by "Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil".

The image, captured at 11.33am local time, showed Bessent's name card on the conference table above the notepad. Despite the notepad remaining visible for 30 minutes after Bessent's speech praising the president, a treasury spokesperson declined to comment on the contents or the extent of any potential intervention by the treasury to support the yen's value against the dollar.

The Financial Times later reported that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York had sold euros to purchase yen on behalf of the US Treasury. The yen's depreciation to its weakest level since 1986 has been attributed to factors such as rising oil prices. The Treasury Department had earlier notified banks that it could act in the yen market on Friday, and Japanese authorities had propped up the currency during early trading hours, leading to a significant strengthening of the yen against the dollar later in the day.