Japan has officially stated that it intervened in the foreign exchange market three times during the spring Golden Week holidays to support the yen. This operation deviates from the recent "dual intervention" pattern, adding an additional round of intervention to maximize psychological deterrence for investors.
The Ministry of Finance released daily intervention data for the quarter ending June on Friday, revealing that Tokyo authorities purchased yen on April 30, May 4, and May 6. Official data shows that the scale of these three interventions was 6.28 trillion yen, 780 billion yen, and 4.68 trillion yen, respectively, setting a record for the highest total amount Japan has spent to prop up the yen through foreign exchange market operations.
The report confirms that despite the yen experiencing at least five significant intraday surges during this period, no other smoothing operations were conducted besides those three days. Data released at the end of May had already indicated that Japan set a record for monthly intervention spending at 11.73 trillion yen during this time, with some funds potentially raised through the sale of foreign securities, including U.S. Treasuries.
Previously, the market had accounted for the scale of two clearly identified interventions, leaving a gap of approximately 1.6 trillion yen, which had already hinted at the possibility of a third market intervention.