Japan may have spent $35 billion in yen-buying intervention, BOJ data shows

May 1, 2026 5:31 AM EDT

The Japanese national flag waves at the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan March 18, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

By Atsuko Aoyama ‌and Rocky ​Swift

TOKYO, ​May 1 (Reuters) - Japan may have spent as much as 5.48 trillion yen ($35 billion) ‌bolstering its embattled currency, central bank data ⁠indicated on Friday, following reports that Tokyo intervened on ‌Thursday to arrest a ‌sharp selloff in the yen.

The Bank of Japan's projection for money market conditions on May ​7, the next market day after a stretch of domestic holidays, indicated a 9.48 ⁠trillion yen net outflow of funds.

Major money market firms had forecast ​a drawdown of between 4 trillion yen and 4.5 trillion yen.

Yen-buying activity involves ​the BOJ soaking up yen from ‌markets, so any outsized shortfalls in funds can offer potential clues as ⁠to how much was spent on any intervention.

Japan intervened to support the yen against the U.S. dollar ⁠on Thursday, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, ​in its latest attempt to halt a slide exacerbated by a spike in oil prices linked to the ‌Iran war.

Prior to that, Japan's most recent intervention happened in July 2024, when ‌it spent about $36.8 billion to bolster the ⁠yen after it sank ‌to a 38-year ​low of 161.96 per dollar.

($1 = 156.5500 yen)

(Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Alexander ‌Smith)



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