Earlier this week, a Hong Kong journalist single-handedly sent shock waves through currency markets. It began when the reporter independently decided to construct a story on the potential effects of the Yuan’s revaluation. The article was picked up by a semi-official Chinese news service, which performed a cursory translation of the article before publishing it. Bloomberg news and Reuters instantly noticed the article, which claimed China was officially revaluing the Yuan. Without offering sources, the article claimed the Yuan would be allowed to appreciate by 1% next month, and 6% by the end of the year. Within a few minutes, traders had sold $2 Billion of USD on forex markets, sending the USD reeling. The traders snatched up currencies of other developing Asian nations, with the expectation that these other nations would follow China’s lead and allow their currencies to appreciate. After a few phone calls, however, it was revealed that the story was a product of inaccurate translation, and traders poured back into the USD. The Wall Street Journal reports:

The Bloomberg story flashed across trading screens just as Asian currency traders were ending their day and European markets were opening. Traders instantly dumped dollars and bought any Asian currency they could lay their hands on…When Bloomberg and its rival news service Reuters started casting doubt on the report, traders just as quickly tried to buy back the dollar.

Read More: How a News Story,Translated Badly,Caused Trading Panic