The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said it used HK$9.4bn ($1.2bn) of its reserves to buy Hong Kong dollars on the open market.
It acted after the local currency dropped past HK$7.85 per US dollar, the weak end of the band within which it is allowed to trade. The move will drain liquidity from the banking system and pushed up interbank lending rates on Thursday, potentially threatening a carry trade that has allowed investors to borrow cheaply in the city’s currency before investing in higher-yielding US debt securities. Source: FT https://lnkd.in/evksjsp9
US Tariffs have massive negative consequences on Japan's car exports
Source: GIR, zerohedge
JAPAN MAY CORE CPI INFLATION RISES 3.7% Y/Y; EST. 3.6%; PREV. 3.5%
HIGHEST SINCE JANUARY 2023 $JPY Source: investing.com
Asian nations have NEVER owned so many US assets:
The 11 largest Asian countries have accumulated $4.7 TRILLION of US stocks and bonds over the last 28 years. Their total investments in the US reached $7.5tn. ➡️ Will they bring the money back home? Source: Global Markets Investor, zerohedge, Bloomberg
Japan's 30-year government bond yield has risen sharply in recent months and is now 3%.
That's the same yield level as Germany, but German government debt is 60% versus Japan's 240%. Japanese yields are still way too low given Japan's astronomically high level of government debt. Source: Robin Brooks @robin_j_brooks on X
Asia’s $7.5 Trillion Bet on US Assets Is Suddenly Unravelling
Source: Bloomberg
And now watch Japanese inflation tumble...
As highlighted by zerohedge, Japan does NOT actually have high CORE inflation; it does however have soaring rice prices which have skewed inflation expectations across the population as rice is a huge component of the overall CPI basket. Meanwhile the BOJ is scrambling to contain inflation - which has tumbled ex food with real wages near record lows - and is tightening conditions by raising rates even though it has zero control over food inflation. However, as a by product of its monetary policies and strong yen, the bond market is crashing every day now... This bond crash could eventually spread to Japan's banks and global markets, sparking a global crisis. They thus need to do something. Yesterday, Japan's Ministry of Finance (MOF) said they will consider tweaking the composition of its bond program for the current fiscal year, which could involve cuts to its super-long bond issuance... This was enough to trigger a big drop in bond yields and the yen, which both came as a relief for global markets. What is happening on rice (and its deflationary consequences) is anotehr positive development Source: zerohedge, Bloomberg, Macrobond
The Bank of Japan's unrealized losses hit a record ¥28.6 trillion ($198 billion) in Fiscal Year 2024 ending March 31, 2025.
Paper losses from Japanese government bonds TRIPLED from the last year. However, the BOJ's reported net income was ¥2.26 trillion ($16 billion). It can take years until these bonds mature. Source: Global Markets Investor, Bloomberg
