Yen Weakness may result in unforseen circumstances – Soros

The Bank of Japan’s move to expand monetary easing may trigger “an avalanche” in the yen as Japanese put money elsewhere in anticipation of sustained currency depreciation, billionaire investor George Soros said.

Calling the expanded stimulus “a sensation” and “a very daring undertaking,” Soros said policy makers may not be able to arrest the fall in the yen and capital flight as the new policy was adopted after 25 years of mounting government deficits and failure to rejuvenate the economy.

“What Japan is doing is actually quite dangerous because they’re doing it after 25 years of just simply accumulating deficits and not getting the economy going,” Soros said in an interview with CNBC in Hong Kong today. “If the yen starts to fall, which it has done, and people in Japan realize that it’s liable to continue and want to put their money abroad, then the fall may become like an avalanche.”

The BOJ’s new Governor Haruhiko Kuroda laid out plans for Japan’s biggest round of quantitative easing, expanding the central bank’s balance sheet by 30 percent of gross domestic product between now and the end of 2014.

Bloomberg

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.