The New Taiwan dollar rose on Friday, strengthening in tandem with currencies and shares across Asia’s developing nations, as signs that the global financial crisis is easing bolstered demand for emerging-market assets.
The currency has gained about 7 percent against the US dollar since reaching an eight-year low of NT$35.297 in March. The US Federal Reserve said on Thursday it would end one emergency funding program and scale back two others, a sign markets are stabilizing after banks worldwide reported credit losses of almost US$1.5 trillion in the past two years. Overseas investors added to their holdings of Taiwan stocks for a third day.
The Fed announcement “tells us that financial conditions are normalizing; it’s a confirmation of sentiment,” said Dwyfor Evans, a currency strategist at State Street Global Markets in Hong Kong. “The big picture is still in place, one of continued inflows into Taiwan, benefits from the relationship with China, and also continued benefits from what is still a risk-loving environment.”
The NT dollar rose 0.1 percent to close at NT$32.925 on Friday, according to Taipei Forex Inc. The currency will climb to NT$31.50 by the end of the year, Evans forecast.
Elsewhere, Indonesia’s rupiah and the Philippine peso had a weekly gain on optimism overseas investors will buy Asian bonds and stocks after the US Federal Reserve signaled US interest rates will be kept at near zero.
The rupiah was the biggest gainer this week among Asia’s 10 most-active currencies outside Japan as its 10-year bond yielded 7.6 percentage points more than similar-dated US debt, near the highest in a month.
The rupiah climbed 1.8 percent this week to 10,220 per US dollar in Jakarta on Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The peso rose 0.2 percent to 48.305 in Manila, according to Tullett Prebon PLC. The Thai baht rose 0.3 percent to 34.07.
The South Korean won fell 1.2 percent this week to 1,284.25 against the US currency, the Vietnamese dong was barely changed at 17,802 and Singapore’s dollar was little changed at S$1.4542.
The US dollar fell against most of its major counterparts after China repeated its call for a supranational currency “delinked” from sovereign nations.
The greenback headed for its biggest weekly loss against the euro in four weeks after the People’s Bank of China said the IMF should manage more of members’ foreign-exchange reserves. A rally in Treasuries this week pushed the yield on the benchmark 10-year note down the most since December, lowering expected returns.
The US currency declined 0.6 percent to US$1.4078 per euro at 3pm in New York, from US$1.3988 on Thursday, extending its loss for the week to 1 percent. The dollar fell 0.8 percent to ¥95.17 from ¥95.95 on Thursday and was poised for a 1.1 percent weekly decline, its third consecutive drop.
The Swiss franc rose against the euro and dollar on speculation traders will test the central bank’s resolve to keep its currency weaker.
The franc climbed 0.6 percent to SF1.5219 against the euro, one of only five major currencies to advance on Friday versus Europe’s 16-nation currency. The franc advanced 1.2 percent to SF1.0814 compared with the US dollar.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS