U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said in congressional testimony that the funds deployed by the United States in coordinated intervention with Japanese authorities to support the yen were a “very small amount.” He also discussed the background to the intervention and money flows between Japan and the United States.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on 15 September, explaining that the funds deployed in the yen-buying intervention were a “very small amount” and that the United States had been able to demonstrate its support for Japan’s policies. He said a stronger yen would benefit U.S. exports and suggested that if the yen strengthened, the Japanese government would no longer need to sell U.S. assets to raise funds.
Japan intervened to buy yen on 31 July and is said to have deployed the largest amount of funds on record, although it may also have sold dollars and U.S. Treasuries at the same time. Japan is also said to be the largest overseas holder of U.S. Treasuries.
Experts estimate that the Treasury Department deployed well below $1 billion in the yen-buying intervention. The Japanese government and the Bank of Japan are said to have conducted intervention totaling ¥15.3993 trillion between 30 July and 26 August. Bessent also said that the U.S. Treasury made a profit of tens of millions of dollars through the intervention, although that was not its direct objective.
The Bank of Japan is scheduled to hold a monetary policy meeting shortly, and Bessent also suggested that he would like the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates to support the yen.