Japan and Korea have dumped billions of dollars defending the yen and the won against the strong US currency

Japan and Korea have dumped billions of dollars into the foreign exchange market to prop up their currencies against the US dollar.

According to a notice from the Ministry of Finance on Friday, Japan spent up to 2 billion dollars to help the Japanese currency. 15% of the funds available were used for intervention efforts. The country's first market intervention in over a decade took place this week.

The Bank of Korea said that South Korea sold $15.41 billion in the second quarter. According to the central bank, that was the largest amount they have disclosed.

The dollar is up 21% against the won this year.

The Asian currencies have fallen against the dollar due to the Federal Reserve's aggressive path of interest rate. The Fed has raised its rate five times this year in order to bring down inflation.

The price of oil, which has ballooned this year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has hurt the currencies of both Japan and South Korea.

The dollar was knocked down from around 146 to 141 by Japan's intervention, but has since recovered. The dollar was up against the Japanese currency.

The US dollar bought 1,436 won against the South Korean currency on Friday. The quarter for which the Bank of Korea released its notification on Friday saw it advance by 11.5%.