[Bessent defended the intervention, saying that the yen's "disorder" may push up U.S. interest rates] On August 29, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent defended his actions to support the yen last month, saying that any extreme fluctuations in the yen may be transmitted to the United States and push up U.S. interest rates. On August 27, Bessent said in a letter responding to Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren's recent inquiry on yen operations: "Japan is an important holder of U.S. Treasury bonds. Once disorder occurs in the yen market, it may trigger forced liquidation of positions, thereby disrupting global markets and ultimately increasing borrowing costs for American households and businesses." Bessent released the letter on Friday =. He declined to say how much money the U.S. spent on the intervention in late July, but said the operation used "existing foreign currency assets of the Exchange Stabilization Fund to buy yen." Earlier this month, he suggested that the U.S. Treasury use the euro. Also on Friday, Japan reported that it had spent a record $96.4 billion to support the yen in the past month.