Invisible hand is visible...

Mar 18, 9:01 AM EDT

NY Fed confirms intervention in currency markets

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The New York Federal Reserve Bank is confirming that it has intervened in currency markets for the first time in more than a decade.

The disclosure by the U.S. came a day after the Group of Seven major industrialized nations pledged in a statement to join in a coordinated effort to weaken the Japanese yen. The yen has surged in the last week to post-war record levels following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

A spokesman at the New York Fed, which operates as the agent of the U.S. Treasury in currency operations, confirmed that it had intervened. The last time the U.S. government intervened in currency markets was the fall of 2000 when it sold dollars and bought euros to bolster the fledgling European currency.

The spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operation, refused to provide any details on the amounts of the intervention or what currencies were involved.

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Original Post: rdunne.com