ForexSpirit

Last Sunday’s New York Times contained an interesting article on how Japanese Housewives Sweat in Secret as Markets Reel. It gives an interesting overview of how involved Japanese housewives are in the world of currency trading and how much impact they have. With their hands on the purse strings of Japan’s huge savings they have become an important player in a short space of time.

While the unwinding of the carry trade last month hit many of them very hard, it has not knocked them out of the market completely. They seem to be licking their wounds, waiting to re-enter the fray.

I was certainly surprised to learn that they can be up to 20% of the currency trading volume during a typical Asian trading session. If for that reason alone they are definitely worth keeping an eye on.