Swiss Franc Slumps in Mini ‘Flash Crash’ as Japan Curse Strikes

  • Franc slides almost 1% in a matter of minutes before reversing
  • Japan holidays now signposted on traders’ desks: NAB’s Catril
A "fat-finger" trade is to blame, says Nomura FX strategist Jordan Rochester.Source: Bloomberg
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The Swiss franc swooned almost 1 percent at the start of Asian trade Monday as thin liquidity caused by a Japan holiday led to a mini recurrence of the “flash crash” that roiled FX markets early last month.

The Swissie slid from 1.0004 per dollar around 7 a.m. in Tokyo to as weak as 1.0096, the lowest since November, within a matter of minutes before almost as suddenly reversing the move to trade 0.2% stronger on the day. The round trip created a trading range for Monday of almost 110 pips, about double this year’s daily average of 56.