LONDON (Reuters) – BNP Paribas said on Wednesday it had initiated a short position in the dollar’s exchange rate against the yen, essentially betting that the Japanese currency would strengthen in coming months with a Bank of Japan policy shift coming.
BNP said in a note that it was targetting dollar/yen at 120 versus current levels around 128.44.
The BOJ kept its yield curve control targets intact on Wednesday, set at -0.1% for short-term interest rates and around 0% for the 10-year yield. It also made no change to its guidance that allows the 10-year bond yield to move 50 basis points either side of its 0% target.
The yen initially dropped against other major currencies, although recovered some ground on expectations for tighter policy in the coming months. It was last down just 0.2%.
BNP Paribas said it expects the BOJ to make policy changes at its March meeting, the last meeting with current BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.
The French bank expects the BOJ to widen the target range for the 10-year yield to 0% plus-or-minus 1% at the March 10 meeting.
(Reporting by Samuel Indyk; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)
