Yen: Japan and the US apparently support the yen together

Tokyo: Japan and the United States reportedly intervened together in the foreign exchange market to prevent the yen from plunging to a 40-year low, according to insiders. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, set to announce a coordinated action on Monday, was expected to highlight both countries' determination to curb excessive yen depreciation, said two well-informed government representatives on Sunday to Reuters.

The insider confirmed that Katayama would announce a "joint action," adding that the operation was still underway. The Japanese Finance Ministry and the U.S. Treasury were initially unavailable for comment. According to market participants, the Japanese and U.S. authorities had already purchased yen on Thursday and Friday. This would be the first such joint intervention since 2011.

The action followed a statement from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week, who described the yen as "severely undervalued." A handwritten note on a piece of paper from Bessent's desk, seen in a Reuters photo on Friday, read: "To do: Buy Japanese yen (JPY) for five to ten billion dollars." The U.S. Treasury had previously informed several banks that they should prepare for further steps, an insider revealed.