TL;DR by CuriousCats.ai
Bessent proposes yen purchase; US Treasury intervenes
- Bessent's to-do list shows a proposal for the US to buy $5bn-$10bn of Japanese yen.
- About two hours before the note appeared, Reuters reported the Treasury department had notified banks it could intervene in the yen market that day; Japanese authorities had already stepped in to support the yen, triggering substantial strengthening.
- The yen saw another sizeable strengthening against the dollar in the late afternoon; LSEG data showed the dollar dropping from about 158.9 yen to 157.6 yen, a decline of about 0.8%.
Context on Bessent's proposal and Treasury actions
- A treasury spokesperson did not immediately respond to Reuters about the notepad or whether the treasury had intervened to help prop up the yen's value against the dollar on Friday.
- The photographed notepad was headed “To Do” and included “Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil”; Bessent’s name card was positioned immediately above it.
- Reuters reported the photograph was taken at 11.33am local time; video later showed the notepad still in front of Bessent when he spoke about 30 minutes later.
CuriousCats Full Story
Key Insight
“Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported the Treasury had notified banks it could intervene in the yen market that day; Japanese authorities had already stepped in, triggering substantial strengthening. LSEG data later showed the dollar dropping from about 158.9 yen to 157.6 yen, a decline of about 0.8%.”
CuriousCats studied:
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The Guardian
The Guardian“During a cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, the US treasury secretary Scott Bessent carelessly revealed plans for the US to buy $5bn-$10bn in Japanese yen in a scribbled “to do” list left visible to a Reuters photographer.”
The Guardian →Ask CuriousCats
What is Scott Bessent's proposal?
Why is the US Treasury intervening today?
How has the yen been performing recently?
Are other countries experiencing similar currency interventions?
How does this action compare to previous US interventions?
