The US Treasury Secretary denies speculation of "US-Japan joint intervention in the currency market" and reiterates a strong dollar position, causing the yen to fall in response.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bensen on Wednesday categorically denied that the US is considering selling dollars in the foreign exchange market to buy yen to help stabilize the exchange rate in Japan, and reaffirmed that the US has long pursued a "strong dollar policy." His comments quickly suppressed speculation in the market about possible joint intervention in the foreign exchange market by the US and Japan, causing the yen to weaken against the dollar, the dollar index to strengthen, reaching 96.58 at one point, and spot gold to temporarily drop, narrowing the increase to below 2%. Bensen stated in an interview that the US will "absolutely not" intervene in the foreign exchange market to push the yen higher. When asked if the US may take similar actions, he emphasized, "We will not comment on this, we can only say that we have a strong dollar policy." As a result, the yen rapidly fell during the New York trading session, dropping by about 0.9% at one point to around 153.55 yen per US dollar. The speculation in the market was fueled mainly by reports last week about the New York Fed conducting a so-called "exchange rate check" for the dollar against the yen. As the New York Fed acts as an agent for the Treasury Department in the foreign exchange market, this news briefly led investors to bet that the US might join hands with the Japanese government to sell dollars and support the yen. Bensen tried to calm the market, emphasizing that the so-called "strong dollar" does not imply short-term exchange rate operations, but is based on policy fundamentals. "The US has always pursued a strong dollar policy, but that means implementing the right economic fundamentals," Bensen said. "If policies are sound, capital will naturally flow into the US." He also pointed out that a narrowing US trade deficit will automatically boost the strength of the dollar in the long term, implying that a stronger dollar should rely more on structural improvements rather than administrative intervention. In addition to the exchange rate issue, Bensen also responded to various macroeconomic and policy risks that the market is focusing on. He mentioned that the US government is once again facing the risk of a shutdown and that the situation is currently unclear, but emphasized that President Trump has urged the Democratic Party to avoid a shutdown and expects the US economy to continue to show "very strong" growth this year. Regarding international trade, Bensen stated that negotiations related to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement are about to resume, and the US will avoid actively provoking disputes in the process. He remains optimistic about the prospects of trade negotiations with Canada and encourages the Canadian Prime Minister to make decisions based on the interests of his own country. Regarding the next Federal Reserve Chairman nomination, Bensen stated that the range of candidates has neither narrowed nor expanded at the moment, and revealed that he had lengthy discussions with President Trump about this on the plane. He also emphasized that the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions should remain completely independent, but he hopes they maintain an open attitude towards policies. Bensen also mentioned that the S&P 500 index has surpassed 7000 points for the first time, reflecting that the current policy mix designed to promote growth has been effective.