Iran Headlines Lead Algorithms to Make Money-Losing Trades
- Dollar-yen whipsawed on Iran news, dropping as much as 0.7%
- Aussie and kiwi were also sold by algos after rocket strikes
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Algorithmic trading machines jumped on headlines with the words “Iran” and “attack” in them, exacerbating sharp moves in key currency pairs during early Asian trading, according to traders.
Headlines saying Iran launched missiles against U.S.-Iraqi bases were seized upon by algo programs that unleashed a wave of dollar-yen sell orders, according to Asia-based traders who asked not be named as they are not authorized to speak publicly.