Reuters (July 1)
“Japan spent a record 11.7 trillion yen ($72 billion) intervening in foreign exchange markets between late April and early May. But the brief boost to the yen was quickly wiped out…. It slumped to a 40-year low of 162.66 per dollar on Tuesday.” The Ministry of Finance is reportedly changing tactics. “Japanese officials are abandoning their habit of telegraphing intervention risks, instead signalling a more targeted campaign to squeeze speculators and raise the cost of betting against the battered yen.”
Tags: $72 billion, Battered yen, Cost, Forex, Intervening, Intervention risks, Japan, Markets, MoF, Officials, Record, Slumped, Speculators, Squeeze, Tactics, Telegraphing, Wiped out
Reuters (May 8)
“Hedge funds and speculators spent the first four months of the year betting heavily against the dollar. They’re now running for the hills. The increasingly rapid rate at which they’re slashing their short dollar positions is creating a vicious cycle.” Moreover, it looks like “this ‘pain trade’ has further to run because, historically, the overall short position remains large.”
