The US dollar gained the most against the euro in six months on concern the global recovery may stall as economic stimulus winds down, reducing demand for higher-yielding assets funded by the greenback.
The pound touched the strongest level against the euro this week since September after gains in consumer confidence and mortgage approvals added to signs an economic recovery is taking hold in the UK. The advance in the dollar before next’s week Federal Reserve announcement pared a fourth consecutive monthly loss, part of the longest losing streak since 2004.
The US dollar advanced 2 percent to US$1.4719 per euro on Friday, from US$1.5008 on Oct. 23. It was the biggest gain since a 2.3 percent rise in the five days ended April 10.
The dollar rallied from a 14-month low of US$1.5063 against the euro on Monday.
The euro decreased 4.2 percent to ¥132.61, from ¥138.15, in the biggest drop since May. The US dollar fell 2.1 percent to ¥90.09, from ¥89.64. It touched a level lower than ¥90 on Friday for the first time since Oct. 15.
Sterling rallied 2.8 percent to £0.8944 per euro as reports showed UK mortgage approvals climbed in September to the highest level in 18 months and consumer confidence rose.
The pound touched £0.8912 against the euro on Thursday, the strongest level since Sept. 17. Britain’s currency gained 0.9 percent to US$1.6452.
Asian currencies declined for a second week, led by the Indonesian rupiah and Indian rupee, as unexpected slides in US home sales and consumer confidence fueled concern about the speed of a global economic recovery.
The rupiah dropped 1.6 percent this week to 9,585 per dollar, India’s rupee fell 1.0 percent to 46.9729 and the Malaysian ringgit slid 0.9 percent to 3.4138. All three were still up for the month.
The Korean won ended the week 0.1 percent lower at 1,182.05 in Seoul. The currency, which has strengthened 9 percent in the past six months, reached a five-week low of 1,205.75 per dollar on Thursday.
The New Taiwan dollar declined 0.4 percent this week to NT$32.535 against the US currency.
Elsewhere, the Philippine peso fell 1.3 percent this week to 47.595. The Singapore dollar dropped 0.3 percent to S$1.3978, while the Thai baht was little changed at 33.43.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm named Trami at 2am yesterday, and is projected to move west-northwest toward waters east of Luzon Island, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Trami’s center was 700km east of Manila, or 1,180km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving in a northwesterly direction. It was carrying maximum sustained winds of 65kph, with gusts of up to 90kph, CWA data showed. The weather agency forecast the center of the storm would be over waters 470km east-northeast of Manila or 820km southeast of Oluanpi at 8am today, and urged ships
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday temporarily shut down the nation’s nuclear energy generation as the state-run utility started regular maintenance on the remaining reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant for 41 days. The No. 2 reactor of the nation’s only active nuclear plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) is set to be decommissioned next year. The No. 1 reactor has been offline since July. The shutdown is to perform equipment maintenance and fuel replacement in preparation for the power plant’s next operating cycle, Taipower said in a statement. With support from other energy sources, Taipower would ensure sufficient power supply
TROUBLED WATERS: The ministers also said they opposed China’s obstruction of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and the militarization of disputed features G7 defense ministers in a joint statement on Saturday singled out China over a number of concerns, including its “provocative actions” near Taiwan. The defense ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US gathered in Naples, Italy, from Friday to yesterday for the group’s first ministerial meeting dedicated to defense. In the joint declaration, they stressed “enduring unity and common determination to address, in a cohesive and concrete manner, security challenges, at a time in history marked by great instability.” In addition to voicing support for Ukraine, expressing concern about the escalating conflict in the Middle East and condemning
BIGGEST TROUBLEMAKER: China should not be carrying out any such exercises given the threat to regional peace and stability, Premier Cho Jung-tai said yesterday The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that live-fire Chinese drills in a province facing Taiwan are part of routine annual drills, but also possibly part of China’s “deterrence effect” in the waters of the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration, in a notice late on Monday, said an area around Niushan Island in China’s Fujian Province would be closed off for four hours from 9am yesterday for live-fire drills. Niushan sits just south of the Taiwan-controlled Matsu islands. The ministry in a statement said that the exercises are part of routine Chinese training and it was keeping a close watch, but