bloombergreport

US and Japanese authorities extended efforts to shore up the yen on Friday, with the currency strengthening more than 1% against both the dollar and the euro, Bloomberg reported. Japanese authorities bought yen and sold dollars during New York trading, while the Financial Times said the Federal Reserve Bank of New York sold euros to buy yen on behalf of the US Treasury — a move the FT called the first joint intervention by Washington and Tokyo to prop up the currency in nearly 30 years. The yen gained about 1.3% versus the greenback, closing near the day's high of 157.28.The coordinated push follows Thursday's estimated ¥8.45 trillion ($52.8 billion) intervention, likely Tokyo's largest ever single-day operation, which drove yen trading volumes to their highest in nearly 12 years, according to Bloomberg. The currency last week touched its weakest level since 1986, pressured by rising oil prices, Japan's budget deficits and a wide US-Japan rate gap. Doubts persist over the effort's durability: Evercore ISI strategists said interventions without support from rate differentials tend to be short-lived, while the BOJ held rates on Friday and Governor Kazuo Ueda gave the currency little fresh support. Rabobank's Jane Foley said the crucial question is whether dollar-yen can hold at 160 without pushing higher again.