Witching Hour for Currencies Strikes Again as Yen Breaks Loose
- Timing of surge in yen perfect recipe for chaos: Swissquote
- Policy makers seen stepping in should volatility increase
This article is for subscribers only.
The currency market’s so-called witching hour struck again on Thursday, to the detriment of traders who were long the Australian dollar and Turkish lira.
The window of trading in the global day between the close in New York and the open in Tokyo has become notorious in recent years as thin liquidity exposes financial markets to rapid swings. Foreign-exchange volumes dwindle to just 2 percent of peak turnover during this period, according to data from consultancy Aite Group issued in 2016.