The U.S. joined Japan in engineering one of the most notable rebounds in the yen since the currency began its yearslong slide, a decline that¡¯s stoked inflation in the Asian nation and rippled through global markets.
At the close of New York trading on Friday, the yen was quoted at 157.40 to the dollar, the strongest since early May. Just two days earlier it was flirting around the weakest levels since 1986, sounding alarm bells in Tokyo as rising import costs squeeze businesses and consumers.
The sharp gains were fueled by a combination of direct purchases of the yen, calls by officials to banks that trade the currency and jawboning from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama. Bessent, who has deep knowledge of Japan¡¯s place in global markets from his hedge fund career, indicated that he thinks the yen is too weak.
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