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The Bank of Japan's sudden shift has truly caught everyone off guard. Ueda Kazuo went from being ambiguous to an outright hawkish stance, and the market's reaction was also unprepared.
In his recent speech, his words were so straightforward that it left people a bit stunned: wages are rising, prices are soaring, and the 2% inflation target is right in front of us. If not now, then when? After maintaining negative interest rates for so many years, it's time for a reckoning. Next year, they will continue to hike, no more thinking about easing measures to rescue the market. In plain terms, the decision has been made.
The press conference two weeks ago was still somewhat vague, but the market immediately pushed the yen to 157. Ueda probably felt furious at home—why can't you understand what I mean? Fine, I'll put it differently. On Christmas Day, he dropped a heavy bombshell, shocking everyone with its hawkish tone. Those engaged in carry trades are now probably crying their eyes out: what to do with yen short positions? Leverage might blow up!
BTC also fluctuated with this wave of market movements, as the global liquidity environment has completely changed. Wall Street's short-sellers are now reassessing risks—Japan is no longer the place to borrow cheap money at will, and the arbitrage opportunities in Japanese assets are rapidly shrinking.
Essentially, Japan's era of ultra-loose monetary policy is over. Maintaining zero interest rates for so long, and now finally moving to hike rates, signals a major shift for the global financial markets. Retail investors are still asking if they can bottom-fish the yen, but Ueda is already calculating the next rate hike timing.
This truly feels like Japan's financial sector has been holding back for thirty years before finally erupting. From maintaining zero rates for the long term to now decisively raising rates, the speed and magnitude of this change are enough to reshape market perceptions of the yen and related assets.