The New Zealand dollar and Japanese yen are the two-worst performing major currencies of 2024. That’s an odd occurrence as they often find themselves on the opposite sides of the spectrum as a traditional high yielder (NZD) and low yielder (JPY).

This year, the US dollar took an 11.6% bite out of both.

It certainly wasn’t a straight line for anyone trading the pair. NZD steadily rose against JPY from May to mid-July and then the bottom fell out as the market sniffed out a global slowdown. It was a rug pull in the pair that led to some breathtaking selling for three straight weeks. That drop was an early warning sign that foreshadowed (by about a week) a drop in US equities and global risk assets.

But the economic pain never really materialized in a way that some central bank rate cuts couldn’t handle. The Fed pivoted and NZD/JPY has cautiously tried to find a bottom.

Mixed in with that has been a haphazard Chinese stimulus program that’s at times inspired the market but mostly disappointed it. That will remain a big theme in NZD/JPY and trading in general in 2025.