Japan and the United States have conducted a rare coordinated intervention to buy yen, halting the Japanese currency's slide to 40-year lows, Reuters reports. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Washington was helping to prop up the yen as a sign of friendship and to support the global economy. "They have a weakening yen, and they wanted a little bit of help. And we're always there for Japan," Trump said.

The joint intervention is the first since 2011 and comes as Japan struggles with a relentless currency decline that pushes up import prices and stokes inflation. The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 157.07 yen after Trump's remarks, well off the 40-year high near 164 yen hit late last month. Japan's Finance Ministry said the intervention "countered excessive volatility and disorderly movements in the Japanese yen in recent months" and signalled it is willing to take further action if needed.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also confirmed the effort, stating that Washington "will not hesitate to participate in further joint intervention", Al Jazeera reports.