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Carry trades have been unwinding like bandages on a mummy this week, leaving the dollar in tatters versus the yen.
But as long as the pullback remains confined to mostly speculative investors and the bulk of other carry traders - institutions and private Japanese investors - hold firm in their positions, then recent events may not inflict much more damage on the greenback.
"The major chunk of carry trades are coming from Japanese investors, and they're not going to immediatoldy run for the hills over this," said John McCarthy, director of foreign exchange at ING Capital Markets.
That's because a profit can still be made by borrowing a low-yielding currency, like the yen, and "carrying" it - or using it to buy currency that pays more interest, like the dollar or sterling.
Still, there is a breaking point for all investors, speculative and long-term, and if the yen were to continue to climb significantly versus the dollar and the euro, then carry trade unwinding may turn more universal.
The dollar, McCarthy said, would have to dip to the sub-Y110s before the majority of institutions and individual Japanese investors began pulling their carry trades. Thursday afternoon, the yen stood at Y117.49.
Some analysts say levels around Y110 are not out of the question. The Japanese economy is likely to stage a rebound this year, which could encourage more capital inflow and less outflow, and give a carry trade-harming boost to the yen.
Yen Strength Looms
But others argue that Japan's economy could grow at a rapid pace this year amid stronger export performances, which could improve consumer and business confidence and may lead to more aggressive rate hikes by the BOJ, despite the bank's suggestions that such increases would be gradual.
Analysts at ABN Amro Bank said in a research note that they would not be surprised to see Japanese economic data begin to out-perform other majors and Asian countries, which could lead to further yen gains.
These same analysts last Friday warned of a carry trade unwind similar to what happened this week, saying "the carry trade, while justified on various grounds, has become excessive and has blinded the market to a number of fresh developments that point to upside risks in the yen."
Naomi Fink, currency strategist at BNP Paribas, said the latest data out of Japan suggests that funds are indeed being repatriated from abroad, which could also build up the yen.
In March, Japanese corporations and institutions often repatriate funds from abroad before the end of the Japanese fiscal year on March 31. |
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