Tokyo: The Bank of Japan projected that deposits held by financial institutions at the bank rose by 2 trillion yen (Dh85.8 billion) after the nation intervened in the currency market for the first time since 2004.
The central bank estimated that deposits climbed to a total 17.1 trillion yen, it said in a statement released in Tokyo. The figure suggests that the government sold approximately 2 trillion yen yesterday to weaken the yen from a 15-year high against the dollar, according to Shinsuke Kanabu at Central Tanshi, a Tokyo-based money market dealer and broker.
"Based on analysis of the BOJ data, it is fair to estimate that Japan sold about 2 trillion yen in the currency market on September 15," said Kanabu, a project and research director.
Japan sold after the yen touched 82.88 per dollar, the strongest level since May 1995. Intervention pushed the yen to 85.78, the weakest since August 30, before the currency rebounded to as much as 85.23 yesterday. The amount may have been more than 2 trillion yen, the largest single-day intervention, Nikkei English News reported earlier yesterday without citing anyone.
The central bank said yesterday it will supply 1 trillion yen to the banking system as part of its regular funding operations.
