This Currency Is A 'Refuge Of Safety' In Today's Volatile Markets

Hamzei Analytics HFT Forex strategist Ashraf Laidi said something unusual happened when U.S. equities markets closed down on Monday.

"We saw the U.S. dollar falling alongside the stock market," he said. "Why was that?"

Laidi joined Benzinga’s #PreMarket Prep this week to talk about what brought the dollar down and the one currency that has been steady during recent market instability.

One of the reasons that the U.S. dollar fell on Monday was because of the Ebola scare at Boston’s Logan International Airport, Laidi explained. He said that this potential case in the Northeast made the Ebola scare more serious.

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"We had a knee jerk reaction of the U.S. dollar falling across the board," Laidi said. "[British pound] sterling went up against the dollar, and that was a great opportunity for us to say sell the bounce in the British pound."

Laidi said that the British pound went all the way to 1.6120, but then went down to 1.5920. That’s a move of 200 price interest points.

“In Forex terms, that’s huge,” Laidi said.

Stocks Extend Rout, USD Fears Ebola http://t.co/WrshtNQRTu by @FX_Button #forex #Ebola #equities

— Ashraf Laidi (@alaidi) October 13, 2014

The main story in the currency markets is that correlations come and go, Laidi explained. But there is one currency that has been the "refuge of safety" in market volatility: the Japanese yen.

"The Japanese yen has been spanking every currency left and right," he said.

He also talked about interest rates and the eurozone.

Check out his full interview here:

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