Iran asked Japanese refiners to switch to the yen to pay for all crude oil purchases, after Iran's central bank said it is reducing holdings of the U.S. dollar.
Iran wants yen-based transactions "for any/all of your forthcoming Iranian crude oil liftings," according to a letter sent to Japanese refiners that was signed by Ali A. Arshi, general manager of crude oil marketing and exports in Tehran at the National Iranian Oil Co. The request is for all shipments "effective immediately," according to the letter, dated July 10 and obtained by Bloomberg News.
I guess they'd rather get paid in the world's most undervalued currency which has a good chance of strengthening over the next few years, rather than the USD which looks like its just going to keep on depreciating against all other currencies.
Warren Buffett has hinted that he's made a significant currency play but of course, he won't say which one. Speculation is that its either Japanese Yen, Indian Rupee, Chinese Remnimbi or Australian Dollar. But Buffett, like many foreign countries isn't too keen on keeping his US Dollars either.
The Yen is severely undervalued but until the BOJ increases rates, it'll likely stay weak. The good news is that the economy is strengthening, so this finally seems like a possibility.
With the Indian 10 yr Reserve Bank Bond yielding 7.5%, and it having appreciated 20% against the USD in the past 2 years, it doesn't surprise me that it made the list.
With a huge stake in Petro-china (PTR), investing the chinese currency sounds redundant, so I doubt Buffett would buy it.
The AUD has appreciated rather nicely against the USD over the past 2 years. That looks like a likely candidate too.
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