Japanese yen are the cheapest they’ve been in 30+ years: you can currently get about 150 yen per dollar. As recently as ten years ago, it was about 75 yen per dollar. From what I can gather, classic supply and demand are big factors in the exchange rate between two currencies. With yen being cheap right now, it would seem people don’t want them as badly as they used to - or there’s somehow an oversupply.
So what makes people want (or not want) yen, or any other currency? In particular, why are yen so cheap right now?
I wasn’t aware of the Yen in particular, but the USD has strengthened against most currencies lately, given that the Fed has been very swift in raising interest rates compared to most places, which is causing all the big money to flock to USD.
It might be because Japan’s debt is 266% of GDP, and they are not doing the same monetary tightening other central banks are. That will tank the value of their currency.
We are in an era where people are learning that all that ‘free money’ we were encouraged to borrow when interest rates were low is anything but.
interest rates. the US is raising theirs rapidly, Japan is holding steady at zero or so. People looking to park their billions for a few days/weeks know where to go.