Japan's yen-buying, U.S. dollar-selling intervention cost ¥2.83 trillion ($19 billion) on Sept. 22, then the largest amount spent in a single day, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.
Since the first intervention in 24 years to prop up the yen, monetary authorities have likely stepped in multiple times, prompting market sources to estimate a far larger amount has been spent. Before Sept. 22, the ¥2.62 trillion spent on April 10, 1998, was the largest daily yen-buying, dollar-selling operation.
Japan's foreign reserves, used to intervene in the market, shrank to $1.19 trillion at the end of October, separate data showed. The reserves, consisting of a variety of assets including foreign securities, deposits and gold, stood at $1.24 trillion a month earlier.