Forex Blog: Currency Trading News & Analysis.

December 27th 2006

Low volatility drives carry trade

2006 was a turbulent year, as many of the world’s major currencies fell out of synch, rising or falling by as much as 15%. Nonetheless, implied volatility (which can be calculated indirectly from currency options), fell to multi-year lows. Analysts have attributed this phenomenon to improved communication of Central Banks, a significant increase in forex trading volumes and a relatively stable global economy. As a result, the carry trade has defied the predictions of experts (including your correspondent) by remaining popular. Investors continue to borrow in Yen and Swiss Francs (with interest rates of .25% and 2% respectively) and invest in higher-yielding currencies. If the current monetary framework remains in place, this should be a profitably strategy. However, fortunes are lost as quickly as they are made, reports Reuters:

The flip side is that any gains can be quickly eroded by a rally in the funding currency — something which is less likely to happen in markets where volatility is low.

Read More: Low FX volatility, carry trades here to stay

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Posted by Adam Kritzer | in Investing & Trading, Japanese Yen | No Comments »

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© 2004 - 2024 Forex Blog.org. Currency charts © their sources. While we aim to analyze and try to forceast the forex markets, none of what we publish should be taken as personalized investment advice. Forex exchange rates depend on many factors like monetary policy, currency inflation, and geo-political risks that may not be forseen. Forex trading & investing involves a significant risk of loss.