unwinding

unwind un‧wind [ʌnˈwaɪnd] verb unwound _PTandPP [-ˈwaʊnd] FINANCE

1. unwind a long position to sell bonds, shares etc because you think their price will fall:

• Investors decided to unwind their money-losing long-term bond positions, using proceeds to buy short-term securities.

2. unwind a short position to obtain the bonds, shares etc that you borrowed to sell, and deliver them:

• When the market rose instead of falling, these speculators rushed to unwind their short positions.

— unwinding noun [uncountable] :

• the unwinding of some long, or overbought, dollar positions

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unwind UK US /ʌnˈwaɪnd/ verb (unwound, unwound)

► [T] FINANCE to sell shares, etc. that you bought expecting that their price would rise: »

Institutional investors caused prices to fall as they unwound positions that they took when they were betting on rising stock prices.

► [T] FINANCE to buy the shares, etc. that you borrowed expecting that their price would go down and that you now need to deliver: »

Traders unwound short positions, expecting gasoline would be lower this time of year.

► [I or T] to change or remove the effects of something: »

Financial markets believe that these imbalances can be unwound gradually, allowing the economy to land softly.

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People's ability to service debt is unwinding.

► [I] (also wind down) to relax and allow your mind to be free from worry after a period of work: »

The facility was built as a place where casino workers could go and unwind after their shifts.

unwinding noun [U]

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The mark's weakness against the yen is a result of the unwinding of long positions.