Somehow, unless we all go “risk off” — and the Fed, which skipped a June rate rise, has a change of mind and signals a year-end easing instead — the yen carry trades will not unwind so easily, and my holiday may be a tad cheaper by then. When I made my “dark horse” call of the Japanese market in January, it was based on a hunch, for the hypothesis was not well supported by clear data then. What is clear now is that the run is still on.
Some folks have asked where my next wanderings will take me, hoping that I may gather some ground-up tips about investing in those countries and share them in this column. They also wonder if I have been here in Singapore all through June. Actually, yes. Since my inspection of Tokyo in mid-May, I’ve avoided travelling over the June school holidays.
The Nikkei remains unabated, with private banks like Bank of Singapore among the latest to join the chorus of bulls on Japanese equities. Besides the potential gain of investing in Japan, Singaporeans paying in yen have enjoyed another 6% advantage since mid-May. With this persistently weakening yen versus the Singdollar, I am tempted to lock in more yen or pre-pay my accommodation and rental car for a trip to Kyushu in November.
