By Peter Landers
TOKYO--Japan likely carried out a second round of significant yen-buying intervention this week, according to a calculation based on data from the Bank of Japan and private money brokers.
In a daily projection released Thursday, the BOJ said commercial banks' deposits at the central bank would likely drop by 4.36 trillion yen, equivalent to about $28 billion, next Tuesday due to fiscal factors. Friday and Monday are holidays in Japan.
The figure issued by the BOJ compares with a drop of around Y1 trillion expected by money-market brokers in earlier predictions.
The gap of more than Y3 trillion between the BOJ's forecast and the earlier expectations by money brokers suggests that the government carried out additional currency intervention on Thursday Japan time. The government hasn't confirmed that.
Similar calculations earlier in the week suggested that the government carried out tens of billions of dollars in yen-buying intervention on Monday. Such intervention depletes commercial banks' current-account balances in yen at the Japanese central bank.
Early Thursday morning Japan time, the yen suddenly surged from around 157.50 to the dollar to the Y153 level versus the dollar, prompting speculation that a further round of intervention by the Japanese government had taken place. Late Thursday Japan time, the dollar was changing hands at around Y155.22.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-02-24 0614ET
