Under the pressure of the US dollar's decline and boosted by safe-haven demand, speculative traders are betting on a rise in the Japanese yen, reaching a new high.

As President Trump's trade war triggers selling of US assets and boosts safe-haven demand, speculative traders have made record high bets on the yen. According to data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as of April 15th, asset managers and leveraged funds' net long positions on the yen climbed to a historic high last week. At the same time, short positions on the US dollar have further increased. With Trump continuously pressuring Federal Reserve Chairman Powell to cut interest rates, and claiming he could immediately replace Powell, selling of the US dollar has gained further momentum. As of writing, the US dollar index has fallen below the 99 integer level, to 98.35. Ahead of the meeting between US and Japanese finance ministers this Monday, the yen to US dollar exchange rate rose to its highest level since September last year. As of writing, the USD/JPY exchange rate is currently at 140.70. Due to increased demand for safe-haven assets amid the uncertainty of the global trade war, the yen has been appreciating against the US dollar for three consecutive weeks. SMBC Nikko Securities recently lowered their year-end USD/JPY exchange rate forecast to 133 due to the tariff impact, while Nomura Securities predicts the rate will reach 137.50. Koji Fukaya, senior researcher at Japan's Market Risk Advisory, stated: "The risk of buying yen is considered low, and selling yen and buying dollars is seen as a reasonable risk-taking behavior." "In such an uncertain and volatile environment, the importance of interest rate differentials is decreasing, and Japan can tolerate a strong yen, while the United States hopes to see a weaker dollar and a stronger yen."