In case you’ve forgotten about it. The “insanity trade” is still very much alive. So much so in fact, that I want to (not only bring you up to speed) – but also introduce……..Insanity Trade 2!
Not much different from the original “insanity trade” we’re talking about EUR/NZD this time.
Ok. Wrapping your head around the “reasoning” or the “fundamentals” behind these trades is a stretch for even the most experienced of traders. Pitting the Euro against AUD and now NZD? What the hell? Why? How? What could you possibly be thinking about “fundamentally” to consider such a bizarre trade / pairing? Now?
I’m not going to tell you.
These are the Insanity Trades remember! You need to be insane to take them, and possibly insane to understand them!
I am placing an order long EUR/NZD a full 100 pips above the current price action – my order to buy is at : 1.6260
The current insanity trade is currently sitting EXACTLY BREAK EVEN at 1.43 ( what? you think I sold / freaked on the Fed? Hell no! ) – It’s an insanity trade.
That’s it. Do not try this at home.
Kong….in”song”?
Why the Insanity Trades Actually Make Perfect Sense
The Central Bank Divergence Play Nobody Sees Coming
While every retail trader and their grandmother are staring at USD pairs, completely obsessed with Fed policy and inflation data, the real action is happening in the cross pairs. EUR/NZD represents one of the most extreme central bank policy divergences on the planet right now. The RBNZ has been hiking aggressively, sure, but they’re also operating from a tiny economy that’s completely dependent on commodity exports and tourism recovery. Meanwhile, the ECB is sitting on a powder keg of energy crisis management and structural reforms that could send the Euro screaming higher when everyone least expects it.
The beauty of EUR/NZD is that it strips away all the noise from USD movements and gives you pure exposure to European monetary policy versus New Zealand’s resource-dependent economy. When the ECB finally gets serious about defending the Euro’s purchasing power against energy inflation, the Kiwi doesn’t stand a chance. This isn’t about short-term rate differentials – it’s about structural economic power and which central bank has more ammunition in the long game.
Correlation Breakdown Creates Massive Opportunities
Here’s what the textbooks won’t tell you about cross pairs like EUR/AUD and EUR/NZD: when traditional correlations break down, that’s when the real money gets made. Normally, AUD and NZD move in lockstep because they’re both commodity currencies tied to similar economic cycles. But we’re not in normal times. Australia’s iron ore and coal exports to China are in a completely different universe from New Zealand’s dairy and tourism recovery story.
The insanity trades capitalize on these correlation breakdowns. While everyone’s trading EUR/USD or AUD/USD, they’re missing the fact that EUR/AUD and EUR/NZD can move independently of both the Dollar and each other. When correlations collapse, volatility explodes, and that’s exactly what we want. The market hasn’t priced in the possibility that European industrial demand could surge while Oceanic commodity prices plateau or decline.
Technical Levels That Defy Conventional Logic
Setting buy orders 100 pips above current market price sounds certifiably insane until you understand how thin the order books are on these exotic crosses. EUR/NZD doesn’t have the liquidity cushion of major pairs, which means when it moves, it moves violently. That 1.6260 level isn’t arbitrary – it represents a breakout point where algorithmic stops will trigger cascading buy orders from institutional players who’ve been short this pair based on outdated fundamental assumptions.
The current EUR/AUD position sitting at breakeven around 1.43 is actually proving the thesis. It’s holding steady despite all the market chaos, Fed volatility, and general risk-off sentiment. That’s not luck – that’s structural support from underlying economic forces that most traders are completely ignoring. When these crosses finally break their ranges, they don’t just trend – they explode.
The Psychology of Counter-Trend Thinking
Every successful trader eventually learns that the biggest profits come from trades that feel completely wrong at the time you put them on. EUR/NZD long feels insane because conventional wisdom says you should be shorting the Euro against everything and buying high-yielding currencies like the Kiwi. But conventional wisdom is what gets you mediocre returns and blown accounts.
The insanity trades work precisely because they go against every instinct that retail traders have been conditioned to follow. While everyone’s focused on yield differentials and short-term data releases, these positions are betting on longer-term structural shifts in global capital flows. The Euro isn’t just another currency – it’s the reserve currency of the world’s largest trading bloc. The Kiwi, despite its attractive yield, represents an economy smaller than most individual US states.
When risk appetite eventually returns and institutional money starts looking for alternatives to Dollar-denominated assets, EUR crosses are going to be the beneficiaries. The insanity isn’t in taking these trades – the insanity is in ignoring them while chasing the same overcrowded USD pairs as every other trader in the market.
