Bessent Notebook Reveals Plan to Buy $5 Billion to $10 Billion of Yen

A note in Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s notebook indicated the US government may be planning to buy as much as $10 billion of Japanese yen. If Washington did intervene in the foreign-exchange market, it would be the first direct US move to support the yen since 2011.

Reuters reported on August 31 that Bessent exposed the note to news cameras while attending a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Donald Trump at Camp David in Maryland.

A Reuters photograph taken over Bessent’s shoulder during the media access period at the start of the meeting showed a line written clearly under an underlined “To Do” heading: “Buy $5 billion-$10 billion Japanese yen.” Bessent’s nameplate was visible above the notebook, confirming it was his note.

A Treasury spokesperson did not immediately answer questions about whether the note was genuine or whether the department intervened that day to support the yen against the dollar.

The foreign-exchange market showed two clear bouts of yen strength that day. Japanese authorities appeared to step in first during morning trading in Tokyo, jolting the market. Later in the afternoon, the yen rose sharply again against the dollar. London Stock Exchange Group data showed the exchange rate moved from 158.9 yen per dollar at 4:14 p.m. Eastern time to 157.6 just before 5 p.m., a drop of about 0.8%.

The last time the US Treasury joined other Group of Seven nations in direct action to support the yen was during the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.