MW: European central banks join G-7 yen intervention
By William L. Watts
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Central banks in Europe on Friday morning moved to sell the Japanese yen in foreign exchange markets after the Group of Seven nations agreed to take action to weaken the currency. A spokeswoman for the German Bundesbank confirmed that the institution was taking part in the intervention effort. News reports said the Bank of England, Bank of France and the European Central Bank have also joined in the intervention. The U.S. dollar soared versus the yen (USDYEN 81.2700, +2.2800, +2.8861%) in Asian trading hours after the joint intervention effort was announced in a joint G-7 statement and the Bank of Japan was seen heavily selling yen. The dollar remains up 2.7% versus the yen at 81.38 yen, compared to 79.14 yen ahead of the announcement. The dollar plunged to a record postwar low versus the yen near 76.25 earlier this week amid investor fears of massive capital repatriation flows in the wake of Japan's devastating earthquake.
