The US dollar was broadly lower on Friday as a combination of uninspiring US economic data and political uncertainty kept traders biased toward the euro and other world currencies.
The euro and other major currencies rose against the US dollar after the release of US second-quarter GDP estimates that largely met economists’ expectations.
Some analysts pointed to a smaller-than-expected increase in US labor costs, but others suggested the data was just an excuse for traders to continue the weak US dollar trade that has sent the greenback lower for much of this year.
US GDP growth picked up to 2.6 percent in the second quarter, matching expectations of economists polled by Reuters, while growth in the first quarter was revised down to 1.2 percent.
“It doesn’t do much to add to the debate about the outlook for [monetary] policy going forward,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange Inc. “So what we’re left with is an environment where momentum is clearly working against the US dollar and clearly working for the euro.”
The Bloomberg US dollar index on Friday fell 0.3 amid month-end selling pressure and posted a weekly decline of a similar magnitude.
In Taipei, the New Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar, losing NT$0.050 to close at NT$30.302. The NT dollar rose 0.5 percent against the greenback from last week’s NT$30.451.
The euro has risen nearly 3 percent against the US dollar so far this month and more than 11.5 percent this year.
It posted its third straight weekly gain and the fourth in five weeks.
On Friday, the euro moved higher against the US dollar, and rose 0.65 percent to US$1.1751.
The common currency on Thursday rose to its highest against the greenback in two-and-a-half-year years before retreating in later trading.
The weakness of the US dollar has been most evident against the euro this year, but it has fallen against most other currencies as expectations for US fiscal stimulus and an increased pace of interest rate increases from the US Federal Reserve have dissipated.
The lack of surprising economic data allowed traders “to focus on the failed healthcare bill overnight, which further undermines expectations for implementation of the administration’s economic policies,” Esiner said. “And that’s ultimately a dollar-negative story.”
The Japanese yen gained 0.4 percent to ¥111.79 per US dollar, the strongest in almost six weeks.
Additional reporting by CNA and Bloomberg
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
EXPECTATIONS: The firm, which is on track to outpace global foundry industry revenue growth, said it expects constrained advanced process capacity amid stronger AI demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday increased its projected revenue growth for this year to above 25 percent, as stronger-than-expected demand for premium smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI) devices are to drive greater utilization of cutting-edge 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer chips. In April TSMC estimated 21 to 24 percent annual growth. The firm’s revenue growth is on track to greatly outpace the global foundry industry, which is expected to rise about 10 percent this year. “Over the past three months, we have observed stronger AI and high-end smartphone demand from our customers, which is to boost the overall capacity utilization for our leading-edge
INVESTMENT: The company’s planned complex in Texas would be the first 12-inch silicon wafer fab built in the US in more than 20 years, a GlobalWafers official said GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said it secured up to US$400 million in direct funding from the US Department of Commerce under the CHIPS and Science Act for the construction of two new advanced fabs in the US. Its subsidiaries GlobalWafers America and MEMC LLC are to build a 12-inch silicon wafer fab in Sherman, Texas, and another one in Missouri to produce silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers used to make leading-edge chips. “With the support of the [US President Joe] Biden Administration, we are honored to be bringing to American shores the world’s most cutting-edge 12-inch semiconductor
Nikon Corp is fielding strong demand for its legacy chipmaking machines in China, which is mobilizing resources to build its own semiconductor supply chain. Inquiries for the Japanese precision maker’s lithography tools have surged in China, Nikon president Muneaki Tokunari said. The company is set to revamp a lithography machine geared for decades-old manufacturing processes. Its NSR-2205iL1, launching this summer, would serve the market for mature chip technology and Nikon expects to sell more than 10 units of the machine annually, said Tokunari, who is also chief operating officer and chief financial officer. New companies are sprouting up in China to make