Yen Gains Abruptly Then Pulls Back During Bessent Visit to Japan

The yen strengthened sharply versus the dollar on Tuesday before falling back during a visit by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Japan.

The Japanese currency abruptly gained as much as 0.3% to 156.78 to the dollar in afternoon Tokyo trading. Currently the yen was up 0.2% at 157.50 as of 3:56 p.m. Tokyo time.

The move comes after a series of suspected interventions over last week’s long holiday in Japan in which authorities likely more than $54 billion defending the currency, according to a Bloomberg analysis of central bank accounts. On April 30, the day authorities first in the market, the yen spiked as much as 3%.

Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama following a meeting with Bessent earlier Tuesday in Tokyo that the two countries were coordinating closely on currency policy.

“The intraday move we saw in the early afternoon today is not particularly large in comparison to a few swings we have seen since 30 April, but we suspect that it reflects the latest news flows related to Katayama-Bessent meeting in Tokyo and the market narrative of continued tacit US-Japan coordination on the management of the yen’s value,” said Homin Lee , strategist at Lombard Odier Singapore.