Treasury orders New York Fed to buy yen, first since 2011

The United States has intervened in foreign exchange markets to support the Japanese yen, marking its first direct action to bolster the currency in over a decade. According to reports, the U.S. Treasury directed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to purchase yen on Friday, July 31, 2026, joining Japanese authorities in an effort to arrest the yen's decline from near 40-year lows.

The New York Fed executed the transactions by selling euros for yen through banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Earlier on Friday, the Treasury had informed several banks that it might intervene and instructed them to remain prepared for future action, a move that helped lift the yen during the trading session. The dollar fell to about 157.6 yen from approximately 158.9 yen in late afternoon trading in Washington, according to market data. This coordinated action followed significant intervention by Japanese officials the previous day, with Bank of Japan data suggesting Tokyo may have spent as much as $58.97 billion to buy yen on Thursday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a social media post, affirmed a strong relationship and close coordination with Japanese authorities but did not...