OREANDA-NEWS  The Ministry of Finance of Japan has confirmed the first entry of the authorities into the market since 2024 to save the falling exchange rate of the national currency. According to Bloomberg, a record 11.73 trillion yen, or $73.6 billion, was spent for these purposes in a month.

Expenses in the period from April 28 to May 27 were required due to the growth of the dollar to more than 160 yen. As a result, they turned out to be more than those announced based on data on the movement of funds of the Central Bank of 10.08 trillion yen. Two years ago, a comparable 9.79 trillion was spent for the same purposes.

The authors of the publication note that the May 2024 scenario was repeated this time — the interventions to maintain the exchange rate followed the decision of the Bank of Japan to leave its monetary policy unchanged, which weakened the currency and prompted the government to intervene in the market situation.

Meanwhile, the yen remains under pressure due to the significant difference in interest rates between the United States and Japan and growing concerns about inflation related to the conflict in the Middle East. Now the exchange rate, which fell to 156.5 yen per dollar by the end of the first decade of May, has again exceeded the level of 159.

Despite the fact that too much spending by the authorities, according to experts, can be interpreted as an inability to stop the depreciation of the yen, "if the market rises above 160 points and the movement is too easy," intervention will follow again, according to Bart Wakabayashi, manager of the Tokyo branch of State Street Bank & Trust.