Bloomberg- Foreign-exchange traders searching for refuge from mounting losses in the credit market are heading to Norway.
The krone is luring speculators attracted to the highest interest rates in five years and a trade surplus that is bigger than any of the 30 most-developed economies thanks to oil prices that now exceed $100 a barrel. Since the start of the collapse of the U.S. subprime-mortgage market in June, the krone’s 15.5 percent gain has trailed only the Japanese yen and Swiss franc among the world’s 16 most-actively traded currencies.
Norway’s currency is trading at its strongest level in a generation. John Taylor, who invests $12 billion of currencies at FX Concepts Inc. in New York, is betting the rally is far from over. Citigroup Inc., the third-biggest currency trader, says it will gain 8 percent against the euro, 6 percent versus the dollar and 12 percent against the yen this year, the best overall performance of the 19 currencies tracked by the bank.
