Forex Flash: Tracing the origin of the G7 mystery voice – UBS

The USD/JPY traded nervously overnight as investors continue to speculate over the identity of the rogue G7 official who yesterday put a different spin on what seemed like a benign communiqué. The mystery voice indicated that the market had misinterpreted the text, and that the actual intent had been to signal concern about "excess moves in the yen".

According to Research Analyst Gareth Berry at UBS, “The comment was initially dismissed as a remark likely to have come from the French delegation, which is already known to harbor concerns about the euro's strength.” However, the Financial Times later revealed that the comment was made "in Washington", which potentially ratchets up its significance by an order of magnitude.