US and Japan move to support the yen | The Business | ABC NEWS
In big news on global markets, the US Treasury Secretary has confirmed America has moved with Japan to prop up the yen late last week and would do so again.
On X, Scott Bessent wrote “economic security is national security. And the U.S – Japan alliance is built on both.”
The decision to support what the US Treasury Secretary has labelled the substantial undervaluation of the yen came as it slid to 40-year lows against the US dollar.
Ronald Temple, chief market strategist for Lazard’s Financial Advisory and Asset Management businesses, says while it is very rare to have two countries undertake such a joint currency intervention, it is even more unusual to confirm it has occurred because of the appearance that markets are being manipulated.
As for why the intervention took place, Mr Temple says changing US interest rate expectations have provided an incentive for investors to move away from the yen and into USD.
He told ABC’s The Business “since the US and Israel attacked Iran, expectations for US interest rates have gone up by about 1 percentage point. So if you look at what the market is saying, (where the) Fed funds rate will be at the end of this year, it’s now saying around 4%, whereas at the end of February, it was saying 3%. So the attraction for moving money out of Japan to the United States has gone up.”
In this interview, he discusses whether the intervention adds to investor risks – not just in currency and bond markets – but also equities.
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