Flat US Yield Curve Encourages Carry Traders

The emerging market carry trade is back on, helping to chase higher the very assets that were sold off last year amid concerns U.S. interest rates were set to rise.

“The U.S. yields haven’t actually risen,” said Nizam Idris, head of fixed income and foreign-exchange strategy at Macquarie. “That environment encourages funds to look for yields,” which can typically be found in the very current account deficit countries that were sold off last year, he added.

A carry trade is when investors borrow in a low-yielding currency, such as the yen and sometimes the U.S. dollar, to fund investments in higher yielding assets somewhere else. A weakening currency is central to the carry trade since it means that investors have less to repay when they cash out of the trade.

“Until U.S. yields start to rise, this trading strategy could be profitable,” Idris said, noting the beneficiaries include the Australian dollar and the Turkish lira as well as high-yielding bonds, like the new offerings from one-time financial market pariah Greece. This week, Greece sold its first international bond issue in four years, priced at an initial yield of 5-5.25 percent.

CNBC

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Mingze Wu

Mingze Wu

Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Based in Singapore, Mingze Wu focuses on trading strategies and technical and fundamental analysis of major currency pairs. He has extensive trading experience across different asset classes and is well-versed in global market fundamentals. In addition to contributing articles to MarketPulseFX, Mingze centers on forex and macro-economic trends impacting the Asia Pacific region.
Mingze Wu