Japan likely stepped into currency markets for a third time this year to prop up the yen soon after U.S. inflation figures came out Thursday, according to a Bloomberg analysis of central bank accounts.
The scale of intervention was probably around ¥3.5 trillion ($22 billion), based on a comparison of Bank of Japan accounts and money broker forecasts.
The figures indicate that Japan’s currency authorities tried to take advantage of a buildup of expectations for a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut immediately after data showed U.S. inflation cooling broadly.