The US Treasury bought Japanese yen in the July-to-September quarter, marking Washington’s first yen-buying intervention since 1998, according to a quarterly report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the 12th. The New York Fed, acting as the Treasury’s fiscal agent, purchased 79.4 billion yen, or approximately $496.8 million, in the spot market on July 31 and sold euros from the Exchange Stabilization Fund. The operation followed dollar-yen rate checks on July 30 that the New York Fed said were conducted solely for the Treasury; the yen rose 2.3% against the dollar that day. Japan’s Ministry of Finance intervened in coordination, purchasing or selling currency totaling 15.4 trillion yen during the quarter to counter excessive volatility and disorderly moves. The dollar-yen rate fell from around 164 yen per dollar to around 155 yen between July 30 and August 3. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later said the US would do whatever it takes to support Japan’s effort to stabilize the yen. The Federal Reserve did not intervene independently in foreign exchange markets.