The dollar fell against most of its major counterparts as a report showed European nations emerged from their worst recession since World War II, encouraging investors to buy higher-yielding assets.
The euro advanced for a second week against the dollar and approached its highest level since August last year before stalling just short of US$1.5050, a level strategists identified as a threshold for further gains.
The US dollar slid 0.4 percent to US$1.4903 per euro this week, from US$1.4847 last Friday. It touched US$1.5048 on on Wednesday, within a fifth of a cent of the 15-month low reached on Oct. 26.
The greenback dropped for a third week against the yen, falling 0.2 percent to ¥89.66, from ¥89.88. The euro gained 0.1 percent to ¥133.63, from ¥133.45.
The British pound rose for a third week against the greenback on signs the recovery is taking hold, even after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said a weaker currency may help boost the economy.
The pound climbed 0.5 percent in the week to US$1.6689 as of 5:20pm in London on Friday. Sterling was little changed in the five days to £0.8938 per euro.
The pound has advanced 14 percent against the dollar this year and 7 percent against the euro currency.
Asian currencies rose this week, led by the Philippine peso and Indonesia’s rupiah, as signs the global economy is recovering from a slump brightened the outlook for exports and bolstered demand for emerging-market assets.
The peso gained 1.1 percent this week to 46.71 per dollar in Manila, the rupiah climbed 1 percent to 9,366 and the Indian rupee strengthened 1.0 percent to 46.335, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Asia Dollar Index advanced 0.6 percent and the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of regional equities gained 1.6 percent.
The New Taiwan dollar rose 0.5 percent in the week to NT$32.339 against the greenback.
Elsewhere, the ringgit advanced 0.8 percent this week to 3.3785 per dollar, Thailand’s baht climbed 0.3 percent to 33.28 and the Singapore dollar appreciated 0.4 percent to S$1.3870.
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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