on BOJ rate-hike bets

Yen has surged in September on expectations for an accelerated schedule of rate hikes by the BOJ

[TOKYO] Speculators turned to a net long position on the yen for the first time since February, data showed late on Friday (Sep 11), a display of growing momentum behind Japanโ€™s beleaguered currency.

Yen futures data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed net non-commercial positions amounting to 10,796 long contracts in the week to Sep 8. That is a reversal from net shorts of 92,227 for the week prior and the first overall long reading since Feb 24.

The yen has surged in September on expectations for an accelerated schedule of rate hikes by the Bank of Japan and a potential repatriation of assets by local investors. The US dollar-yen rate reached 152.89 on Sep 8, the strongest level for the currency since Feb 17.

A years-long weakening trend for the yen accelerated with the election of fiscal dove Sanae Takaichi as prime minister in October 2025 and a sense that the BOJ was behind the curve in tightening monetary policy.

The yen slid to a four-decade low of 163.99 per US dollar in July before a market intervention by Tokyo and Washington to bolster the currency. REUTERS

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