The New Taiwan dollar, Malaysian ringgit and Singapore dollar rose this week as accelerating inflation spurred speculation central banks will allow faster appreciation to rein in price increases. The South Korean won fell.
The ringgit and Singapore currency surged to the strongest in more than a decade, and the NT dollar was near the highest in three years. Stronger currencies may lower inflation by cutting the prices of imported goods, whilst interest-rate increases risk slowing the economy.
"I don't think you're going to see rate hikes across the rest of Asia," said David Fernandez, head of emerging markets research at JPMorgan & Chase Co in Singapore.
Instead, there will be "foreign-exchange appreciation," Fernandez said.
The New Taiwan dollar gained 0.7 percent this week to NT$30.750 against the US dollar at the close of onshore trading on Friday, Taipei Forex Inc said. It was the eighth weekly advance as foreign investors bought stocks on speculation the economy will improve after the presidential elections this month.
"Funds are flowing in," said Jerry Ho, a currency trader at Cathay United Bank (
The NT dollar has risen 5.4 percent this year, the best performing currency among the 10 most-traded in Asia. The nation's two presidential candidates both support closer ties with China, Taiwan's biggest trading partner.
The Singapore dollar rose 0.6 percent against the dollar in the week to S$1.3858 as of 6.01pm local time. It was little changed on Friday after rising to a 13-year high of S$1.3849.
Inflation in the city, which is at the highest in almost 26 years, will average 5.3 percent this year after climbing 2.1 percent last year, Fitch Ratings said.
"The massive inflation pressure will likely keep the Monetary Authority of Singapore appreciating the Singapore dollar," wrote Morgan Stanley currency analysts, led by London-based Stephen Jen, in a research report dated on Thursday.
The US bank says the currency may rise to S$1.35 by mid-year and S$1.29 by year-end.
South Korea's won fell 1.9 percent this week to 957.50 against the US dollar as of the 3pm close in Seoul, Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd said.
It was the biggest decline since the week ended Aug. 17 last year as stocks fell 2 percent amid concern the deepening turmoil in global credit markets will spur funds to sell local assets.
"Investors are unnerved by the ongoing global credit woes," said Kim Yule, a currency trader at BNP Paribas SA in Seoul. "They do not feel like increasing holdings of emerging market assets in times of turbulence."
The Philippine peso lost 1 percent against the greenback this week to 40.845 on concern losses in global credit markets will escalate after the US Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday that home-loan foreclosures rose to an all-time high at the end of last year.
"More and more bad news is coming out from the US and investors are uneasy," said Marcelo Ayes, senior vice president for treasury at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp in Manila.
Funds may sell Philippine stocks and bonds as they prefer to remain liquid, he said.
The Thai baht was little changed a week after the Bank of Thailand removed its foreign exchange controls. The currency traded at 31.56 on Friday against the US dollar, compared with 31.58 in late trading on Feb. 29.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
Cryptocurrencies gave a lukewarm reception to US President Donald Trump’s first policy moves on digital assets, notching small gains after he commissioned a report on regulation and a crypto reserve. Bitcoin has been broadly steady since Trump took office on Monday and was trading at about US$105,000 yesterday as some of the euphoria around a hoped-for revolution in cryptocurrency regulation ebbed. Smaller cryptocurrency ether has likewise had a fairly steady week, although was up 5 percent in the Asia day to US$3,420. Bitcoin had been one of the most spectacular “Trump trades” in financial markets, gaining 50 percent to break above US$100,000 and
RSS