Bessent’s ‘to-do’ list suggests US planned yen purchase
A handwritten list accidentally visible at a US cabinet meeting indicated the Treasury was considering buying Japanese yen worth billions. The yen strengthened after Japanese authorities intervened, and reports suggest the US may have joined.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent inadvertently revealed a possible currency intervention when a photographer captured his notepad during a cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday. The list, visible over his shoulder, contained the words ‘Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil’. Bessent’s name card sat directly above the pad in the image taken at 11.33am local time, and later footage showed the note still on the table as he spoke.
The disclosure comes as the yen has weakened sharply. The currency last week touched its weakest level since 1986, with rising oil prices among factors cited by Bloomberg News. Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source, that the Treasury had told several banks it could intervene in the yen market that day, about two hours before the photograph was taken.
Japanese authorities had already moved to support the yen earlier in the day, producing a strong rebound in morning trading. Later in the afternoon, there appeared to be another significant yen surge against the dollar. LSEG figures show the dollar slipping from roughly 158.9 yen at 4.14pm ET to about 157.6 yen shortly before 5pm, a decline of about 0.8%.
Asked about the notepad, a Treasury spokesperson did not respond to Reuters. The Financial Times later reported that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York had sold euros and bought yen on behalf of the Treasury. If confirmed, it would be the first US intervention to support the yen since 2011, when Washington joined other G7 countries in coordinated action following Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.
