The US dollar held firm on Friday amid news that US banking giant Citigroup, hard-hit by a sharp downturn in the US housing market, posted a smaller than expected quarterly loss.
The euro was quoted at US$1.5846 from US$1.5850 late on Thursday in New York.
The dollar meanwhile firmed to ¥106.95 from ¥106.37 on Thursday.
The news from Citigroup, one of the biggest US banks, helped calm jitters about the health of the financial sector in the world’s largest economy.
The bank posted a US$2.495 billion quarterly loss on more hefty real estate writeoffs in results that were not as bad as had been feared.
The loss, amounting to US$0.54 a share, was somewhat better than anticipated on Wall Street, where analysts had been expecting a deficit of US$0.61 a share.
“Several other US banks have reported better than expected second-quarter earnings, relieving some of the worst concerns about the US financial markets and contributing to yesterday’s strong equity market performance and dollar short covering,” said Hilary Love at PNC Bank.
“A drop in oil prices also helped the US dollar,” she said.
In late New York trading, the dollar stood at 1.0223 Swiss francs from SF1.0197 on Thursday.
The pound was at US$1.990 after US$2.0014.
The Philippine peso led gains among Asian currencies last week after the central bank on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate by more than most economists forecast to temper inflation.
The peso rallied to its biggest weekly gain in almost seven years as crude oil headed for the biggest weekly slump since December 2004.
The peso gained 2.6 percent this week to 44.455 a dollar, the most since the week ended Aug. 10, 2001, the Bankers Association of the Philippines said.
The South Korean won completed its biggest weekly loss this month as overseas investors reduced their holdings of local shares for a 30th straight day, boosting demand for dollars.
The currency pared last week’s advance, the biggest in a decade, on speculation the Bank of Korea ended purchases of its own currency. Vice Finance Minister Kim Dong-soo said on Tuesday inflation could damp the economy as the government trimmed its growth estimate for this year to 4.7 percent from 6 percent.
The won declined 1.2 percent for the week to 1,013.80 per dollar, according to Seoul Money Brokerages Ltd.
The Malaysian ringgit fell for a third day on Friday on concern a leadership struggle would distract the government from taking measures to tackle inflation and spur economic growth.
The ringgit weakened 0.3 percent to 3.2413 versus the dollar, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
Elsewhere, the New Taiwan dollar strengthened 0.1 percent last week to NT$30.36 and Indonesia’s rupiah rose 0.1 percent to 9,152. The Singaporean dollar rose 0.4 percent to S$1.3532 per dollar, Vietnam’s dong added 0.3 percent to 16,795 and Thailand’s baht rose 1 percent to 33.33 for its best week since February.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
RSS