People’s Bank of China Moves Against Shorts

It was only last week that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) was rumoured to be competing in the currency market, which was coincidentally followed by a Moody’s downgrade. The action demonstrated signs that positions have been cut at a loss for anyone who attempted to short the Yuan. The O/N (overnight) and T/N (Tom-next) rates ballooned today which makes running currency short positions extremely expensive to finance. The currency traded from 6.85 down to below 6.77 (off-shore) as dealers scrambled to cover short positions as everyone chased for financing. The rates market moved from around 5.25% to over 21% to cover short-term (o/n and t/n) positions.

 

This is a popular move often undertaken by central banks if they fear the market is challenging them. The Bank of England when the GBP was forced out of the ERM raised rates to over 15% from then 11%. However, it is interesting that the options markets has (so far) seen this as a temporary move and has priced longer dated trades with only minimal impact. Many are speculating, given the new fixed approach China has taken against the USD, whether this is a friendly move to help a new President address his concerns over currency manipulation and assist a weaker USD!

Latest Posts

Market Talk – May 3, 2024

ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today: NIKKEI 225 closed Shanghai closed Hang Seng increased 268.79 points or 1.48% to 18,475.92 ASX 200 increased 42.00 [...]
Read more

Palestinian Refugees Heading to America

To the surprise of none, President Joe Biden is considering allowing Palestinians to seek refuge in America. Technically, they could already come here; anyone and everyone could come here, as [...]
Read more

The UK Will Deport Migrants to Rwanda

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak finally has the power to bypass the European Union courts and tackle the UK’s migrant crisis. About 1,843 illegal immigrants crossed into the UK in 2019, [...]
Read more