Asian currencies gained this week, led by the New Taiwan dollar and the Indonesian rupiah as US Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts revived investor appetite for emerging-market assets.
All 10 of the most-actively traded Asian currencies outside of Japan rose versus the US currency in the week after the Fed lowered its benchmark rate to 3 percent and signaled it's ready to reduce it further to spur US growth. Thailand's baht strengthened beyond 33 to the dollar in onshore trading for the first time since August 1997.
"After the Fed we saw some risk appetite come back," said Patrick Bennett, a currency strategist with Societe Generale in Hong Kong. "Asian currencies at these levels reflect too much confidence, but the won can outperform because its economy is more leveraged to China than others in the region."
The Taiwanese currency traded at NT$32.178 to the US currency, up 0.4 percent from NT$32.3 last week, Taipei Forex Inc figures show.
The rupiah rose 1.3 percent this week to 9,205 per dollar and reached the highest in more than two months.
The won gained 0.3 percent this week to 944.25 per US dollar, Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd said.
Indonesia's rupiah advanced for a second week as a report showed inflation accelerated to a 16-month high last month, damping speculation the central bank will cut its 8 percent benchmark rate. South Korea's central bank rate is 5 percent, while Taiwan's is 3.375 percent.
Consumer prices rose 7.4 percent from a year earlier, following a 6.6 percent gain in December, the Central Statistics Bureau said in Jakarta. Economists were expecting the inflation rate to stay little changed.
"Market players are buying the rupiah to target profits from the higher yield," said Masahiro Gao, vice president of the treasury unit at PT Bank Mizuho Indonesia.
Taiwan's dollar rose as exporters converted their overseas earnings to the currency before the Lunar New Year holiday.
Taiwanese banks and government offices will be shut from Wednesday to next Monday for the holiday and companies typically pay employees annual bonuses before the festival.
"Exporters are dumping US dollars, boosting the Taiwan dollar," said Yang Kung-yi (楊恭逸), a currency trader at Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank in Taipei (上海商銀).
The won snapped two weeks of losses after a report showed South Korea's exports grew at a pace faster than economists expected. Shipments overseas increased 17 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said in Gwacheon. That compared with the median forecast for a 15.3 percent gain in a Bloomberg News survey.
Malaysia's ringgit climbed 0.1 percent this week to 3.2355 and the Philippine peso rose 0.7 percent to 40.5. Vietnam's dong advanced 0.1 percent to 15,973.
Singapore's dollar reached the highest since February 1997 on speculation the city-state's central bank is allowing currency gains to curb inflation.
The Singapore dollar advanced for a second week as inflation in December accelerated at the fastest pace since 1982.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, which expects consumer prices to rise this year at more than double last year's rate, said in October that it would allow "slightly" faster appreciation in the island's dollar.
The currency rose to S$1.4151 from S$1.4227 a week ago, data compiled by Bloomberg show. It earlier strengthened to S$1.4148.
Taiwan would remain in the same international network for carrying out cross-border payments and would not be marginalized on the world stage, despite jostling among international powers, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said yesterday. Yang made the remarks during a speech at an annual event organized by Financial Information Service Co (財金資訊), which oversees Taiwan’s banking, payment and settlement systems. “The US dollar will remain the world’s major cross-border payment tool, given its high liquidity, legality and safe-haven status,” Yang said. Russia is pushing for a new cross-border payment system and highlighted the issue during a BRICS summit in October. The existing system
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to grow its revenue by about 25 percent to a new record high next year, driven by robust demand for advanced technologies used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications and crypto mining, International Data Corp (IDC) said yesterday. That would see TSMC secure a 67 percent share of the world’s foundry market next year, from 64 percent this year, IDC senior semiconductor research manager Galen Zeng (曾冠瑋) predicted. In the broader foundry definition, TSMC would see its market share rise to 36 percent next year from 33 percent this year, he said. To address concerns
Intel Corp chief financial officer Dave Zinsner said that a formal separation of the company’s factory and product development divisions is an open question that would be decided by the chipmaker’s next leader. Zinsner, who is serving as interim co-CEO following this month’s ouster of Pat Gelsinger, made the remarks on Thursday at the Barclays technology conference in San Francisco alongside co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus. Intel’s struggles to keep pace with rivals — along with its deteriorating financial condition — have spurred speculation that the next CEO would make dramatic changes. That has included talk of a split of the company’s manufacturing
PROTECTIONISM: The tariffs would go into effect on Jan. 1 and are meant to protect the US’ clean energy sector from unfair Chinese practices, the US trade chief said US President Joe Biden’s administration plans to raise tariffs on solar wafers, polysilicon and some tungsten products from China to protect US clean energy businesses. The notice from the Office of US Trade Representative (USTR) said tariffs on Chinese-made solar wafers and polysilicon would rise to 50 percent from 25 percent and duties on certain tungsten products would increase from zero to 25 percent, effective on Jan. 1, following a review of Chinese trade practices under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974. The decision followed a public comment period after the USTR said in September that it was considering
RSS