The Indian rupee and the Philippine peso led a weekly advance among Asian currencies on speculation oil prices near the lowest in seven weeks will reduce demand for dollars from importers.
The rupee posted its best week in four months as exporters may have converted overseas earnings to guard against further currency gains. A stronger rupee erodes revenue from overseas shipments in local-currency terms. Crude oil in New York declined for a third week, helping lower India’s import costs.
The rupee gained 1.2 percent this week to 42.265 per US dollar in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It may strengthen to 42.10 next week, Rao said.
The Philippine peso rose 0.9 percent from last week to 44.07 in Manila, according to Tullett Prebon PLC.
The Indian currency rallied 1.5 percent on Wednesday, the biggest gain in more than a decade, on speculation the government will allow more overseas investment in the financial industry after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh survived a confidence vote in parliament the previous day.
South Korea’s won advanced this week on speculation the government bought the currency to help contain inflation.
The won has gained 3.8 percent this month, the best performance among the 16 most-active major currencies as South Korean Vice Finance Minister Kim Dong-soo said on Thursday that the government would monitor for “herd behavior” in the foreign-exchange market.
The won climbed 0.5 percent this week to 1,009.20 in Seoul, from 1,013.80 last week, Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd said. It dropped 0.2 percent on Friday.
Malaysia’s ringgit snapped a two-week advance as the central bank unexpectedly refrained from increasing interest rates yesterday.
The ringgit dropped 0.3 percent this week to 3.25, Bloomberg data showed.
Elsewhere, The New Taiwan dollar dropped 0.2 percent to NT$30.407 against the US currency this week, the Singapore dollar fell 0.4 percent to S$1.3588 and the Thai baht declined 0.3 percent to 33.42 per US dollar. Vietnam’s dong was unchanged at 16,795 versus a week ago.
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
‘IMPORTANCE OF PEACE’: President Lai was welcomed by AIT Managing Director Ingrid Larson, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and others President William Lai (賴清德) was feted with red carpets, garlands of flowers and “alohas” as he began his two-day stopover in Hawaii on Saturday, part of a Pacific tour. Looking relaxed in a Hawaiian shirt, Lai flitted around the US island state, visiting the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Hawaii’s leading museum of natural history and native Hawaiian culture, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Lai was given the “red carpet treatment” on the tarmac of Honolulu’s international airport, his office said, adding that it was the first time a Taiwanese president had been given such
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