The Japanese government’s foreign-exchange market intervention carried out from late April to early May to defend the yen was the largest on a daily basis, according to Ministry of Finance documents. The report provides a breaking account of the timing and amount of the intervention and movements in the yen exchange rate.
The Japanese government’s foreign-exchange market intervention carried out from 30 April to 6 May to defend the yen involved what is believed to have been the largest-ever amount deployed on a daily basis. According to reports, up to approximately $40 billion was deployed in a single day.
The intervention on 30 April amounted to ¥6.28 trillion, or approximately $39.6 billion, making it the largest since statistics began. The previous record was approximately ¥5.92 trillion on 29 April 2024.
The yen strengthened temporarily after the intervention but soon weakened again. At the time, it moved from around ¥160.725 per dollar to approximately ¥155 per dollar on 6 May. It subsequently weakened again, and was reported to have fallen to above ¥163 per dollar in July.
Separately, although this has not been confirmed, the possibility has been raised that intervention exceeding ¥8 trillion was carried out on the 30th. Based on an analysis of Bank of Japan accounts, Bloomberg estimated that approximately ¥8.45 trillion ($52.8 billion) was deployed that day. One analysis said that, if confirmed, this would be the largest amount ever on a daily basis.