The yen weakened in foreign exchange trading from late on the 18th to the early hours of the 19th, with the dollar reaching the latter half of the ¥156 range. The government and the Bank of Japan conducted a rate check in preparation for yen-buying intervention.
From late on the 18th to the early hours of the 19th, the yen surged by about ¥1 against the dollar, briefly rising to the latter half of the ¥156 range per dollar. In response, the government and the Bank of Japan conducted a "rate check," in which market levels are queried, as part of preparations for yen-buying intervention.
Government officials disclosed the move, and amid growing expectations that the pace of additional BOJ rate hikes would slow, it was viewed as being intended to curb a renewed acceleration of yen depreciation and dollar appreciation.
The market broadly understood that a rate check had been conducted by asking private banks about the level of foreign exchange transactions. It was reported that information from Kyodo News had been supplemented with AI-generated material as the source.