Tremors in the Japanese Financial Market: The July Dollar Collapse Theory

Published in Nikkan Gendai
(Japan) on 26 June 2014
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Patrick Dunnagan. Edited by Emily France.
The dollar's collapse is near. Such rumors are flowing through the Japanese stock market.

"Recently, the topic of discussion in the markets has been colored by the World Cup, and since Japan's defeat in the primary league was decided on the 25th, a heavy atmosphere has been hanging about. The Nikkei average depreciated 109 yen to close at 15,299 yen the previous day as well. While this unpleasant mood persists, sudden adverse shifts in the stock market can easily occur. That's where the dollar collapse theory comes in," says a market participant.

Presently there are no particularly disturbing trends in the exchange rates. In the first half of 2014, the exchange rate stabilized around $1 to 102 yen (a rise from the $1 to 101 yen level), but strange speculations have been spreading beneath the surface.

"We're talking about America's long-term interest rate. With America's Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) advancing its exit strategy, the Dow is at a historic high. The economy has also been picking up. Despite the fact that long-term interest rates should rise, it's remained as low as 2.5 percent for some reason. Many market officials have doubts about this. Many were shocked about information that the FRB was buying up U.S. debt from Belgium. The effect is that low interest rates have continued," says Yasushi Kuroiwa, a Japanese stock analyst.

Due to the "currency guardian" FRB's strange behavior in manipulating interest rates, trust in the dollar as a reserve currency has fluctuated wildly. With rising paranoia in the financial markets, the dollar collapse theory has been spreading more and more.

"Lindsey Williams, a former executive of Major Oil who is known in the financial markets, has claimed that July 1 is when the dollar collapse will happen. Furthermore he says that it will be a 30 percent drop in value," says Yasushi Kuroiwa.

The $1 to 75 Yen Crash

On July 1 it seems there is a possibility that some measures related to tax havens may be implemented, and some multimillionaires may quickly sell off a large amount of their dollars.

"If such a thing happens, there will be an extreme weakening in the dollar-yen exchange ratio. At the worst, the yen could climb 30 percent in value, which would mean a postwar value high of $1 to 75.32 yen," says a market participant.

This could mean a stock market collapse. The previous dollar-yen postwar high was in Oct. 2011, when the Nikkei average was around 8,800 yen. The Nikkei could plunge to that level.

The Abe administration published its growth strategy on the 24th, which has thrown the market even further into disarray. That alone has made the dollar collapse theory become more prominent.

Until July 1, it looks like the situation will remain turbulent in the Japanese stock market.


ドル崩壊は近い――。
 株式市場にそんな怪情報が流れている。

「このところマーケットの話題はW杯一色でしたが、日本代表の1次リーグ敗退が決まり、25日は市場にどんより感が漂った。日経平均も前日比109円安の1万5266円で引けています。ムードが良くない時は、降って湧いたような悪材料が出やすい。それがドル崩壊なのです」(市場関係者)

 今のところ為替相場に不穏な動きは出ていない。1ドル=102円台前半から101円台前半と安定しているが、水面下で奇妙な臆測が広がっている。

「米国の長期金利に関する話です。米FRBは出口戦略を進め、NYダウは史上最高値圏にあります。景気も上向いてきた。本来なら長期金利は上昇するはずなのに、なぜか2.5%程度と低いままです。疑問を抱くマーケット関係者は大勢います。そこで出てきたのが、FRBはベルギーの中央銀行を経由して米国債を大量に買っているという仰天情報です。その効果によって低金利が続いているというのです」(株式アナリストの黒岩泰氏)
通貨の番人であるFRBが異常な“金利操作”をしているとしたら、基軸通貨ドルの信頼は大きく揺らぐ。金融マーケットは疑心暗鬼に陥り、まことしやかにドル崩壊説が流れるのだ。

「市場で知られる米国のリンゼイ・ウィリアムズ氏(石油メジャーの元役員)は7月1日にドルが崩壊すると言っています。しかも、30%下落すると指摘しています」(黒岩泰氏)

■1ドル=75円の円高で株も暴落

 この日、タックスヘイブン(租税回避地)に関する何らかの措置が米国で実施される可能性があり、大富豪を中心に大量のドル売りが出るということらしい。

「そんなことになったら、極端なドル安・円高になります。最悪だと、30%の円高が想定されることになるので、戦後最高値である1ドル=75円32銭を更新する恐れもあります」(市場関係者)

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