U.S. President Donald Trump stated on the 2nd (local time) that the United States intervened in the yen-dollar market in consideration of its relationship with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on his way back to Washington, D.C., from Bedminster, New Jersey, President Trump said the market intervention to curb the yen's depreciation was undertaken because the U.S. has "good relations with Japan," according to foreign media outlets including Reuters and AFP.

President Trump stated, "Japan, the yen was weak, and they needed a little help. And we're always there for Japan."

As the value of the Japanese yen has recently seen a steep decline, Japanese authorities are known to have stepped into the foreign exchange market to buy yen and sell dollars.

The scale of the intervention was reported to be between 6 trillion and 7 trillion yen (approximately 55 trillion to 64 trillion KRW).

In connection with this, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), citing market sources, reported that U.S. monetary authorities conducted a "rate check," which is a preliminary step before market intervention.

Nikkei explained that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, under instructions from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, requested rate checks from multiple banks, noting that simultaneous market involvement by U.S. and Japanese authorities is unusual.

A rate check involves authorities inquiring with major banks about foreign exchange trading conditions prior to intervening in the forex market. It was reported that a rate check on the yen by U.S. authorities was also conducted this January under the leadership of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

On the 31st of last month, during a meeting hosted by President Trump at Camp David, Maryland, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was captured with a memo pad reading "To Do" and "Japan Yen (JPY) $5 billion to $10 billion."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)