U.S. Treasury Secretary Bair denied intervening in the yen exchange rate and reiterated the strong dollar policy.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Berneett played down speculation that the United States may consider selling dollars and buying yen during an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, reiterating the long-standing policy of a "strong dollar". Berneett made it clear that the United States "absolutely does not" intervene in the foreign exchange market to boost the yen. When asked if the United States might take such actions, he said, "In addition to reiterating our strong dollar policy, we have no further comments." The yen fell in response. As of 10:37 a.m. New York time, the yen fell about 0.7% against the dollar to 153.34. There were reports that the New York Federal Reserve conducted a so-called "currency check" on the currency pair last Friday, leading to speculation that the U.S. and Japan might join forces to sell dollars and buy yen. "The United States has always pursued a strong dollar policy, but this requires building the right economic fundamentals," Berneett said. "If we have sound policies, funds will naturally flow in." In addition, Berneett also pointed out that with the narrowing of the U.S. trade deficit, the dollar is expected to strengthen automatically in the long run.