The US dollar rose from a 13-year low against the yen on speculation the Bush administration would use funds intended for financial institutions to rescue General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC.
The yen pared its gain against major currencies on speculation investors will sell higher-yielding assets and pay back low-cost loans in Japan’s currency at a slower pace. The British pound weakened to a record low against the euro for a fifth day after HBOS Plc said bad loans will keep rising as credit conditions deteriorate.
The dollar traded at ¥91.07 in New York, compared with ¥91.45 the previous day, after dropping as much as 3.2 percent to ¥88.53, the lowest level since August 1995. The euro fell 0.2 percent to ¥121.82 from 122.09. The currency was quoted at US$1.3377, compared with US$1.3352.
Meanwhile, Asian currencies climbed this week, led by the South Korean won and the Indonesian rupiah, on optimism that interest-rate cuts and economic stimulus plans would revive demand for emerging-market assets.
All of the 10 most-active regional currencies strengthened this week as the Dollar Index slumped the most in at least a decade. The Malaysian ringgit touched a one-month high and the Philippine peso reached the strongest since Oct. 15.
South Korea, Japan and China said they enhanced their currency swap arrangements to ensure stability in the foreign-exchange market.
The won rose as much as 10 percent, the most since October, before paring gains to 7.5 percent to 1,372.50 per dollar, Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd said.
The yuan strengthened 0.56 percent last week to 6.8427 a dollar in Shanghai from 6.8812 at the end of last week, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
Thailand’s baht capped its best week in more than a year as the biggest cut in interest rates on record spurred optimism the economy will weather the global slump.
Malaysia’s ringgit headed for its biggest weekly gain since the end of a dollar peg in 2005, rising 1.5 percent this week to 3.5825.
The New Taiwan dollar advanced 0.7 percent to NT$33.315 against the US currency. The Philippine peso climbed 2 percent to 48.105.
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.
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