TOKYO: Japan confirmed on Tuesday that it did intervene in the foreign exchange market twice in October to support its yen currency, Ministry of Finance (MOF) data showed on Tuesday.

The quarterly data showed a steep drop in the yen to a 32-year low of 151.94 to the dollar on Oct 21 triggered the intervention that day, followed by another on Oct 24. Japan spent a record 6.35 trillion yen ($47.9 billion) on two unannounced interventions in October, having spent 2.84 trillion yen on Sept. 22 to stem the yen’s sharp fall, which boosted living costs for resource-deficiant Japan.

The dollar has pulled back to move in a range around 130 yen since then, while stoking some concerns about renewed yen rises, which could hamper Japanese exports of cars and electronics.