South Korea’s won fell to a six-week low, leading declines in Asian currencies, on concern the central bank will lower interest rates as growth slows in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy.
The won reached the lowest since March 20 as the US currency posted its first monthly advance this year last month against the euro on speculation the US Federal Reserve is done with cutting rates, halting South Korea’s widening yield advantage. The won is the worst performer this year of the 10 most-traded currencies in Asia outside Japan. The Philippine peso completed a three-week slide to the lowest in more than five months on the nation’s deteriorating budget deficit.
“On one hand, you have a rally in the dollar as the over- pessimistic view on the US economic outlook and interest rates has eased,” said Minoru Shioiri, a senior manager of currency trading at Mitsubishi UFFJ Securities Co in Tokyo. “On the other hand, you see Korean growth slowing and its economy is feeling the negative impact from the US slowdown, encouraging won selling.”
The won completed a 1.4 percent drop this week to 1,009.65 against the US dollar, according to Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd. The peso fell 0.7 percent to 42.345 in Manila for a third straight week of losses, according to the Bankers’ Association of the Philippines.
The New Taiwan dollar shed NT$0.006 to close at NT$30.455 against the greenback on the Taipei Foreign Exchange on Friday.
A total of US$803 million changed hands during the day’s trading. The US currency opened at NT$30.475 and fluctuated between NT$30.430 and NT$30.484.
The peso weakened on concern higher fuel and food prices will stoke inflation and swell import costs, weighing on state finances as the government reported a fourth month of budget deficit in March.
The peso may weaken to between 42.40 and 42.50 within a month, he said.
Indonesia’s rupiah posted a third week of declines after inflation in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy accelerated at an annual rate of 9 percent last month, the fastest in 19 months, the Central Statistics Bureau said on Friday.
The currency reached an almost seven-week low of 9,275 this week before trading at 9,226 per dollar in Jakarta, according to Bloomberg data. Foreign investors were net sellers of local stocks last month, stock exchange data show.
Malaysia’s ringgit slipped to 3.1640 per dollar in Kuala Lumpur for a 0.2 percent loss on week as local stocks snapped a three-week rally and the dollar headed for a second week of gains against the euro.
Thailand’s baht was little changed at 31.72 per dollar. The Vietnamese dong was at 16,115 versus 16,118 a week ago and the Singapore dollar was unchanged at S$1.363.
The Taipei MRT is open all night tonight following New Year’s Eve festivities, and is offering free rides from nearby Green Line stations. Taipei’s 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off at Taipei City Hall Square tonight, with performances from the boy band Energy, the South Korean girl group Apink, and singers Gigi Leung (梁詠琪) and Faith Yang (楊乃文). Taipei 101’s annual New Year’s firework display follows at midnight, themed around Taiwan’s Premier12 baseball championship. Estimates say there will be about 200,000 people in attendance, which is more than usual as this year’s celebrations overlap with A-mei’s (張惠妹) concert at Taipei Dome. There are
LOOKING FOR WHEELS: The military is seeking 8x8 single-chassis vehicles to test the new missile and potentially replace the nation’s existing launch vehicles, the source said Taiwan is developing a hypersonic missile based on the Ching Tien (擎天) supersonic cruise missile, and a Czech-made truck has been tentatively selected as its launch vehicle, a source said yesterday. The Ching Tien, formerly known as Yun Feng (雲峰, “Cloud Peak”), is a domestically developed missile with a range of 1,200km to 2,000km being deployed in casemate-type positions as of last month, an official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The hypersonic missile to be derived from the Ching Tien would feature improved range and a mobile launch platform, while the latter would most likely be a 12x12 single chassis
UP AND DOWN: The route would include a 16.4km underground section from Zuoying to Fongshan and a 9.5km elevated part from Fongshan to Pingtung Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday confirmed a project to extend the high-speed rail (HSR) to Pingtung County through Kaohsiung. Cho made the announcement at a ceremony commemorating the completion of a dome at Kaohsiung Main Station. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications approved the HSR expansion in 2019 using a route that branches off a line from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營). The project was ultimately delayed due to a lack of support for the route. The Zuoying route would have trains stop at the Zuoying Station and return to a junction before traveling southward to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝).
Parts of the nation, including in the south, could experience temperatures as low as 7°C early tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. A strong continental cold air mass coupled with the effect of radiative cooling would bring cold weather to several northern cities and counties, and could even affect areas as far south as Tainan early tomorrow, the CWA said. Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties would experience temperatures below 10°C until this evening, according to cold surge advisories issued by the weather agency. The weather across the nation is forecast to remain
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