The US Treasury's July intervention in the Japanese yen appears to have been a mere $500mn, far smaller than the $26.3bn maximum speculated or the $5-10bn hint left by Scott Bessent for journalists. Following the August 30 disclosure deadline, Financial Times Markets analyzed Treasury data and found the intervention was likely spot market activity, with yen holdings increasing by approximately $502mn in dollar terms after stripping out currency valuation effects. This minimal scale makes the intervention negligible compared to other global bond market interventions.

The Treasury's silence on euroyen forward contracts in Note 9 of July's ESF statements suggests the trades settled after month-end, evading immediate reporting requirements. Weekly foreign exchange reserve releases now provide the clearest window into the actual intervention size.