Asian currencies rose against the dollar for a third week as signs a global recession is easing prompt investors to favor riskier assets, helping emerging markets draw funds.
South Korea’s won and Indonesia’s rupiah led the advance on optimism the region’s exports will rebound after Japan reported industrial output grew for the first time in six months and a Chinese gauge of manufacturing climbed for a second month.
The New Taiwan dollar jumped the most in six months on Thursday after Chinese companies were allowed to invest in Taiwan for the first time since 1949.
The NT dollar rose 1.3 percent this week to close at NT$33.233 against the greenback. The currency appreciated 2.1 percent last month, following an advance of 3.1 percent in March.
The won surged 4.7 percent this week to close at 1,282.95 per dollar in Seoul, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The rupiah climbed 2.1 percent to 10,610.
All regional markets except Indonesia were closed on Friday for the Labor Day holiday. There was no trading in Mumbai on Thursday as well for elections.
The yen traded at 99.17 a dollar after dropping to a two-week low of 99.58 on Friday. It declined to 132.07 per euro on Friday, the lowest since April 14.
The ringgit strengthened 0.8 percent this week to 3.5585 per dollar.
Elsewhere, the Philippine peso gained 0.1 percent this week to 48.360 versus the greenback and the Thai baht rose 0.3 percent to 35.30. China’s yuan was little changed at 6.8230 versus 6.8273 last Friday.
The US dollar dropped as signs of recovery in manufacturing in China and the US sapped demand for the currencies as a refuge.
Australia’s dollar rose for a ninth week against the greenback.
The euro rose 0.9 percent to ¥131.74 at 9:06am in New York on Friday, from ¥130.52 on Thursday, and reached ¥132.35, the highest level since April 14.
The euro on Friday appreciated 0.2 percent to US$1.3253 from US$1.3230 on Thursday.
Japan’s currency fell 2.6 percent versus the euro and 2.3 percent against the dollar this week, the first declines in a month. The US dollar dropped versus the euro for a second week, losing 0.2 percent. The US currency will likely weaken to US$1.40 per euro in six months, Shankar said.
Australia’s currency climbed 1 percent to US$0.7326 and increased 1.7 percent to ¥72.76 as a rally in stocks last month encouraged carry trades.
South Africa’s rand touched 8.4076 per dollar on Friday.
The navy has installed 13 Phalanx Block 1B close-in weapons systems on its warships, increasing their defensive firepower, a defense official said on Saturday. The systems cost the navy NT$10.16 billion (US$314.67 million), while eight additional Block 1A systems are being upgraded in the US and are expected to be delivered next year, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Phalanx system used by Taiwan to defend its warships and key radar installations is a radar-cued gun system capable of firing 4,500 rounds a minute at targets as far away as 1.5km, the official said. With their superior range of
CARROT AND STICK: Palauan president said in 2020 the Chinese ambassador to a neighboring country pledged to flood his country with tourists if it switches alliance Beijing weaponized tourism to the Pacific archipelago of Palau over its allegiance to Taiwan and its accusations that China was behind a major cyberattack there, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr told The Associated Press (AP). Palau, along with Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands, is one of the three Pacific nations to recognize Taiwan as an independent democracy. Taipei’s allies in the Pacific have dwindled from six countries in 2019. Nauru abandoned its ties in January. Whipps told the AP in an interview late on Thursday that, in 2020, while he was running for his current post, the Chinese ambassador to a neighboring country
FINANCIAL RECORD ISSUE: The TPP did not calculate campaign expenditures and such costs were included in the operational expenses, a party official said The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) last year raised NT$84.3 million (US$2.61 million) in donations and spent no money on campaigning, the latest Control Yuan audits on the campaign finances of Taiwanese political parties yesterday revealed. The audit report was published a day after police searched the offices of accounting firms and other companies linked to TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) presidential campaign as part of a probe into alleged corruption and false reporting of campaign finances dating back several years. Last year, the TPP raised NT$46.6 million in individual donations and NT$30.9 million from businesses while spending NT$71 million, including NT$37 million
ACCOUNTABILITY? Vivian Huang resigned as a TPP Central Standing Committee member, while an accountancy denied it was to blame for campaign finance errors Prosecutors yesterday searched offices of accounting firms and other companies linked to Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) presidential campaign amid allegations of fraud, while TPP Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) resigned from the party’s Central Standing Committee. Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office and Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau personnel collected material at seven locations in and around Taipei, including at marketing firm Muko (木可行銷公關), accounting firm Jing Hua CPA (精華會計師事務所), OCT Entertainment Co (時樂) and Neo Creative Marketing Production Co (尼奧創意行銷). They also searched the residences of Tai Li-ling (戴利玲), who is registered as the owner of OCT Entertainment and Neo