February 22nd, 12:31 pm by Barbara Zigah
(eToro Blog) A bullish sentiment for the USD/JPY pair dominates on OpenBook, where the pair is currently trading at 79.98 while a similar bullish trend is being seen on the EUR/JPY pair, currently at 106.11. As markets have been primarily focused on the Greek drama, certain events have been quietly happening below investors’ radar. It was recently reported that the Japanese trade deficit rose to a record high last month, for the first time in several years as the government ratchets up imports of big ticket items needed to rebuild the infrastructure devastated after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The combination of this news and the recent bazooka-like intervention by the Bank of Japan is pushing the Nikkei higher, and supporting the U.S. Dollar and Euro relative to the Japanese Yen and OpenBook traders have been taking good advantage of the recent Yen’s softness.
Trader MAudrius from Lithuania followed the bullish trend and closed out several long positions in the USD/JPY pair, with profits ranging from 22.50% to 56.20%. Over the past six months, this trader has allocated 32.6% of the portfolio to the pair, for a return of 17.2% and is on track to record a 141% gain for the week.
OpenBook guru robepu, who is very successful as a well-diversified trader, had his long position in the EUR/JPY hit the TP just a short while ago, and closed out with an 18.9% profit for him and his copiers. Another open long is nearing break-even and could have the momentum carry it through to a profit. Trader leogem, who had copied robepu’s EUR/JPY trade, opened up a second identical trade that yielded a return of 50%.
Trader JaxxGTA, with 50 followers and 3 copiers, closed out a handful of profitable long positions in the EUR/JPY, and has one open long already showing a gain. The EUR/JPY has an 11.8% allocation in this trader’s portfolio over the last three months, providing a return of 5%.
One currency strategist says that the recovering U.S. economy is also a factor in the greenback’s rise against the Yen as the Bank of Japan’s moves. Economists polled said that they expect housing data to be released later today to show signs of recovery, with previously owned home sales estimated to rise in January 1.1% to an annualized rate of 4.66 million homes; if actualized that would be the highest level in more than 20 months.
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