After the Japanese central bank raised interest rates last week, the momentum of the yen appreciating rapidly for five consecutive days has ended. During the Asian session on Tuesday (August 6th), the yen fell to 144.95 against the US dollar and 5.383 against the Hong Kong dollar. Zhang Jiantai, Chief Asian Foreign Exchange Strategist at Mizuho Bank, said in a media interview that with the changing prospects of US interest rates, increased risk of a hard landing for the US economy, the Bank of Japan turning hawkish, and the relative light trading volume in the summer, investors have been unwinding their yen carry trades, causing the yen to rise. However, this unwinding trend is nearing its end, and it is expected that the yen will shift from unidirectional movement to range-bound movement, hovering between 140 and 145 in the short term. Zhang Jiantai cited data from the US CFTC, showing that speculative long positions on the US dollar against the yen had dropped sharply from a historical high of 184,000 contracts on July 2nd to 73,000 contracts on July 30th. This reflects that the unwinding of yen carry trades had already begun before the Bank of Japan's interest rate decision, and weak labor market data acted as a catalyst for the unwinding trend. The market sentiment quickly weakened, leading investors to reassess the extent of the Fed's interest rate cuts for the year. Investors also reallocated their positions, unwinding carry trades, causing significant fluctuations in global assets. "There is currently no major financial risk, no war, and no epidemic. It's just that the US labor market is cooling faster than expected, and the Fed cannot ignore inflation risks, so the possibility of an emergency rate cut is very low," Zhang Jiantai said. Since the Bank of Japan raised rates in July, the bank has adjusted its yen target price for the third quarter. However, the recent market volatility has made the target of 150 by the end of September seem distant. Nevertheless, he believes that the Japanese government also does not want to see significant fluctuations in the yen, so when the market sentiment calms down, the yen may still move towards 150. It is noted that carry trades refer to investors borrowing low-interest currencies like the yen, exchanging them for high-interest currencies like the dollar, and investing in high-yield assets such as stocks to earn interest rate differentials and asset appreciation profits. When market conditions change, investors sell high-yield assets like stocks to pay off debts and buy back yen, closing carry trades. As a result, stock prices may fall and the yen may appreciate.