Tag: usd/jpy analysis

Japanese Yen Set for a Winter Sell?

Posted on by Lior Alkalay

Lior Alkalay - INO.com Contributor - Forex


The Japanese Yen is finally ready for another bearish wave, the kind that could drive the Dollar-Yen trade to retest the 2015 highs. At least, that is what the USD/JPY technical analysis suggests. According to the MACD Index, the selling momentum has weakened, and the pair is just resting above the 100 pivot, a key pivot for the pair. But the question is, are fundamentals ripe for another Yen selloff and a USD/JPY rally?

Weekly MarketClub Chart of USD/JPY

Yen is a Bond Play

As I often reiterate, the Japanese Yen is essentially a bond play. Over the past decade, Japan has been stuck in a long deflationary cycle of falling prices and less than 1% average growth in five years. Moreover, Japanese consumers, as well as Japanese corporations, have had an overwhelming desire to hoard mountains of cash which only exacerbates the stagnation of the Japanese economy. The combination of constant cash hoarding and deflation has created a very robust market for Japanese Government Bonds. The Japanese government has tried to balance the phenomenon by accumulating a jaw-dropping debt of 229% of GDP or roughly $9.5 Trillion, and by trying to spur growth. Instead of balance, however, it has made the Japanese Government Bond market so overwhelmingly large (compared to other sectors), that it essentially dominates the dynamics of the Yen. When demand for Japanese Government Bond rises so does demand for the Yen, and vice versa. Continue reading "Japanese Yen Set for a Winter Sell?" →

Yen Spike: An Opportunity in the Making?

Posted on by Lior Alkalay

Lior Alkalay - INO.com Contributor - Forex


The BOJ Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, never disappoints when it comes to producing a juicy headline for the newswires. Last time, if you will recall, it was the surprise addition of new stimulus. This time around, in his speech to the Shūgiin, Japan's House of Representatives last week, Governor Kuroda exclaimed that "the Yen is fairly valued." He then continued to outline how the merits of monetary policy have limits.

And what was investors take on Kuroda's message? Clearly fearful. That was evident by the avalanche of investors who failed to consider the underlying message and quickly switched to crowded Yen buying. The USD/JPY move was brutal, with the pair taking a nose dive of 300 pips. Of course, soon after, analysts and experts provided their own take. Opinions ran from "The remarkable rise of the USD/JPY has finally come to an abrupt end" to "the BOJ will not add more stimulus." In fact, big bets on more and more stimulus are now well off the table. But, before you decide to follow the crowd, take a moment to stop, ponder and try to see this for what it very well may be. Simply put, perhaps the spike in the Yen's value is actually an opportunity to sell it high.

Kuroda Vs Bernanke

Markets are looking at Kuroda's speech as the BOJ saying, essentially, that shorting the Yen from here on out might not be such a good idea. It might also suggest that if the BOJ is pleased with the current value of the Yen, that they might then be less accommodative. Of course, no one knows what exactly goes through the governor's head except Kuroda himself, yet we can speculate. Before I do that, let me first draw a comparison to another central banker, Ben Bernanke, the now retired chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank. Continue reading "Yen Spike: An Opportunity in the Making?" →

"I love the forex markets." (New video)

Posted on by The INO.com Team

I have to start out by stating that "I love the forex markets."

But what's this?

Here we are going to hell in a handbasket in the US, yet everybody wants to own dollars.
Go figure.

I have to say that the dollar may be the lesser of all evils in the financial world. Here's what I mean by that statement: I heard that a Chinese businessman who lives in Hong Kong said that the stimulus plan would not work in China, simply because there is so much corruption.

I guess in the US we only have a few bad applies, while China it's almost like they have orchards full of bad apples.

But I digress...

Let's take a look at the US Dollar versus the Japanese Yen (USDJPY). A few weeks ago, I did a video outlining my predictions for this very cross.

Well, after being stopped out of our first position for a small loss, we had another signal based on our daily "Trade Triangle" technology, which issued another entry signal at a very good level. The level is clearly indicated on the chart and you'll see this level in my new video for this cross.

The video, as always, is free of charge and there's no need to register. This is an educational trading video to show you one of the most important technical chart formations and how to incorporate our "Trade Triangle" technology to come up with big winners.

For as long as I've been in the investment game (over 3 decades), this simple formation continues to show itself year after year.

Enjoy the video, and please feel free to make your comments known on our blog. Before I forget, here's the link to the first video we did on the USD/YEN cross a few weeks ago.

All the best,

Adam Hewison
President, INO.com
Co-creator, MarketClub