Carry traders would do well to take a second look at funding favorite the yen — as even at a 20-year low there are better sources to fund the purchase of higher-yielding currencies.
On the surface the yen looks like the perfect well for carry traders to dip into, under pressure from a Bank of Japan determined to keep local yields anchored to the floor even as interest rates around the world push higher. But despite consensus building for further losses — peers look like better funding options on certain key metrics.
That’s the upshot of a Bloomberg analysis of an array of funding currencies, which shows investors may be better off considering the Swiss franc, Taiwan dollar and euro rather than the rapidly weakening yen. These offer a mix of lower implied yields and volatility — hallmarks of a desired funding source for carry traders — who borrow to buy higher-yielding currencies to earn returns.
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