The yen looks set to weaken further, with dollar-yen creeping beyond the 160 level, as the Fed turns more hawkish. The Fed removed its statement reference to additional rate adjustments, nine of 18 FOMC participants pencil in a 2026 rate hike, and the SOFR curve is ripping higher. x.com 

The yen's intervention-driven rally looks weak and likely to fade, with USD/JPY possibly back near 160 soon. The Fed's EUR/JPY sale came after 4pm on a dead July Friday, signaling weakness speculators will test. Japan is slow-walking supporting policy such as rate hikes or repatriation incentives, and Bessent wants a lower USD/JPY without the US asset drawdown repatriation brings. If USD/JPY fails to regain 160 soon, though, the yen could rally hard, with spec shorts at record extremes. x.com  … Show more

The yen looks set to keep strengthening against the dollar, because Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears determined to push USD/JPY lower. Bessent said in an interview that as "the house" he knows exactly what Japan, the Bank of Japan and its policymakers will do when the US intervenes in the yen, and dared markets to bet against him. As a former fund manager who helped successfully attack the pound and the Thai baht, he holds a real information advantage. x.com 

The US dollar's strength against the yen is a trend, as the Bank of Japan neither wants nor dares to reveal its hand. It is avoiding a clear 160 line and instead trying hit-and-run moves against yen shorts, and it is unclear whether it will actually strike. There is little basis for a sustained yen rally; even if it intervenes, its realistic approach is to fight while retreating, unless Fed policy clearly pivots, and Fed chair Warsh does not seem to want to give markets a clear signal. x.com  … Show more

Japan's yen interventions only buy time, so the yen is likely to keep weakening until the Bank of Japan actually moves. Reserves only help while rates stay pinned, and each round costs reserves Japan can't replace while buying less time, making intervention a speed bump for the carry trade. Japan did not save USD/JPY 160 but rented time at it; once 162 prints, the intervention narrative dies. x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com 

Going long the Japanese yen is the best trade on earth right now, because US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will step in to save it, with swap lines and similar measures. The yen's slide has become severe enough that Japan needs to raise rates. x.com  x.com 

The US needs a weaker yen, so Treasury Secretary Bessent's visible note to "Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil," chickenfeed in any case, looks like a psyop and misdirect, calling for the opposite positioning; the buying was a chunk of carry trade to close. Per @TreasuryBonds1, Japan reportedly spent about $53 billion buying yen in a single day, its largest intervention ever, and Bessent called the yen very undervalued. x.com  x.com 

The yen stays weak because intervention cannot fix Japan's deeply negative real rates and a sluggish central bank. Japan deployed up to $95.6 billion over two days, and joint intervention with the US Treasury briefly lifted the yen about 2.8%, but about 85% of that rally has evaporated, with USD/JPY back near 159. The yen has lost 30.6% against the dollar in five years. Intervention did warn speculators off the 160-164 zone, and yen net shorts fell $8.865 billion in a week, the most since 2014. … Show more

The yen could see a violent short squeeze, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claims asymmetric insight into Japan's next policy move and openly dared traders to short it, saying "I am the house now." If Japan tightens or intervenes again, unwinding the huge leveraged yen carry trade could force liquidations across stocks and crypto. @QmoCrypto notes Japan has sold about $71 billion of Treasuries while defending the yen. x.com 

The Japanese yen is weakening again despite the coordinated Bank of Japan and US Treasury intervention, having given back about 38% of the manufactured gain. More government intervention looks likely soon as the currency slides. x.com  x.com