President Donald Trump‘s Friday cabinet meeting at Camp David reportedly showed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent‘s notepad had buying Japanese Yen listed as a “To Do” item.
According to a photograph taken by Reuters during the meeting, it was written “Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil.” The report said the photo was captured at 11:33 a.m. ET and the list showed no other notes. Bessent’s name card sat directly above the pad.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
Yen Strengthens Sharply Against Dollar
Reuters reported earlier Friday that Treasury had told several banks it may intervene in the yen market. Japanese authorities had already acted in Tokyo trading to support the currency.
On Friday, the dollar-yen pair (FOREX:USDJPY) closed at $157.43, up 0.01%, according to the Benzinga Pro data. USDJPY is up 6.82% over the past 12 months and 0.45% year-to-date.
The U.S. last intervened to support the yen in 2011, joining other G7 nations in a coordinated action after a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.
Earlier in July, analysts had warned that defending a weakening yen could push Japan to sell U.S. Treasury holdings for dollars, a move that risks pressuring U.S. bond yields.
Economist Peter Schiff has separately warned that Japan’s debt and currency strains, which pushed the yen to a 40-year low against the dollar in July, could ripple into U.S. markets if Tokyo trims its Treasury holdings.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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