Following a joint intervention by the U.S. Treasury and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to support the yen, the currency initially strengthened to 155 per dollar from over 163. However, this rally has since faded, with the yen settling around 158.50. Analysts are now focusing on domestic policy changes rather than government interventions, as the yen's fundamentals remain under scrutiny.
Robert Sockin, chief U.S. economist at PGIM, expressed skepticism about the long-term effectiveness of the intervention, suggesting it might not reverse the yen's weakness and could lead to aggressive selling by speculators. Bank of America noted that the central banks aim to maintain the yen above 155, but this level was only briefly achieved.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that while market signals can be sent through intervention, it is ultimately policy changes that will determine the currency's direction