Asian currencies declined for a third week, led by the Philippine peso and the Indonesian rupiah, on concern China’s plan to restrict industrial production will hold back an economic recovery in the region.
The rupiah had its second weekly decline in more than two months as companies sought US dollars for month-end payments for imports and debt. Most currencies in the region gained on Friday, paring the week’s losses, after better-than-expected US gross domestic product data eased concern that a rebound in exports would falter.
“There’s been concern China might restrict lending, thereby curbing their growth and that will hamper sentiment in the region,” said Gundy Cahyadi, an economist in Singapore at IDEAglobal. “China is after all the driving factor that will bring the countries out of this recession.”
The peso dropped 0.8 percent in the past five days to 48.805 at the 4pm local close in Manila, data from Tullett Prebon PLC show. Indonesia’s currency slid 0.4 percent this week to 10,050 in Jakarta and India’s rupee fell 0.1 percent to 48.665 in Mumbai. The ringgit slid 0.2 percent this week to 3.52.
The New Taiwan dollar fell 0.1 percent in the past week to NT$32.925 on Friday.
The won rose 0.5 percent this week to 1,244.25 in Seoul, climbing yesterday after the nation posted a current-account surplus for a sixth month in July, helped by an increase in overseas shipments as the global economic slowdown eased.
Elsewhere, the Singapore dollar was little changed this week at S$1.4390. The Thai baht was at 34.01, unchanged from last Friday.
The US dollar gained against the euro on Friday on increased demand for safety as a drop in stocks encouraged investors to sell the 16-nation currency to limit losses.
The US dollar gained 0.3 percent to US$1.4294 per euro at 3:37pm in New York on Friday, from US$1.4341 on Thursday. The dollar advanced 0.1 percent to ¥93.60, from ¥93.52. The euro decreased 0.3 percent to ¥133.75, from ¥134.14 on Thursday.
Sterling was the biggest loser against the dollar among major currencies this month on concern the UK’s recession may last longer than in other countries. The Bank of England said on Aug. 6 it would expand its asset-purchase program, pumping money into the economy to stem the economic contraction.
The pound traded at £0.8808 per euro, compared with £0.8809 on Thursday, when it reached £0.8839, the weakest level since June 5. Sterling was at US$1.6280, compared with US$1.6284, and dropped 2.6 percent this month.
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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