The New Taiwan dollar completed its first weekly gain in a month after European leaders pledged to support Greece’s efforts to regain control of its finances, bolstering demand for emerging-market assets.
The NT dollar gained 0.3 percent from a week ago to close at NT$32.10 against its US counterpart yesterday, Taipei Forex Inc said.
Trading volume rose to US$623 million from US$597 million on Thursday, data from Taipei Forex showed.
The foreign exchange and bonds market will be closed next week because of the Lunar New Year holiday.
“The marginal strengthening that followed Monday’s decline was in line with improved global sentiment given that the EU decided to provide support for Greece,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist at SJS Markets Ltd in Hong Kong. “However, the lack of domestic news and approaching the holiday break led to sideways trading and very limited volatility.”
The volume of local currency in circulation was expected to surge to a record NT$1.5 trillion (US$46.7 billion) yesterday, the central bank said.
The rise was mainly attributable to an increased public demand for cash in the period leading up to the Lunar New Year, bank officials said.
Based on the bank’s statistics, the volume of currency in circulation has been rising by NT$10 billion per day since the start of this month, topping NT$1.48 trillion for the first time on Thursday.
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