Japan Reportedly Conducts First Currency Intervention as Yen Plunges to Lowest Since 1998

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Bank of Japan conducted the first currency intervention since June of 1998 to buy the yen and sell the US dollar amid the continuing drop in the value of the national currency, which is now at its lowest rate since 1998, Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday.

According to the Japanese broadcaster, while the size of the intervention remains unknown, to conduct it the Japanese government is believed to have sold some of the US Treasury bonds it possesses.

Earlier in the day, the Bank of Japan left unchanged the short-term interest rates at minus 0.1% at the end of a two-day policy meeting. Immediately after this, the official Japanese currency dropped to its lowest in 24 years of 145.24 yen per dollar on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The move follows the rise in US dollar against world currencies, including the yen, earlier in the day, after the US Federal Reserve raised benchmark interest rates by a three-quarters of a percentage point. It was the fifth US rate hike since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic two years ago.