Asian currencies dropped for a fourth week, the longest run of losses since June, as concern that some European nations would struggle to contain and finance budget deficits eroded demand for emerging-market assets.
Malaysia’s ringgit and the Singapore dollar led declines as the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of regional shares slumped to a 10-week low.
The ringgit dropped 1 percent this week to 3.4445 per US dollar in Kuala Lumpur, and touched a four-month low of 3.4540 on Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Singapore dollar lost 1.3 percent to S$1.4233, while the South Korean won slid 0.7 percent to 1,169.45.
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded near the strongest level in three weeks, closing up NT$0.003 to NT$32.184 against the US dollar.
The euro headed for a fourth weekly loss versus the US dollar and yen. The euro slid 1.3 percent to US$1.3678 from US$1.3863 last Friday. Against the yen, the euro dropped 2.4 percent to ¥122.09, after falling 3.4 percent on Thursday, the biggest drop since October 2008. The US dollar fell 1.1 percent to ¥89.25, from ¥90.27 last week.
The pound declined 2.2 percent in the week, the most since the five days through Sept. 18, and was at US$1.5630 as of 5:30pm in London on Friday. Sterling declined 0.5 percent to £0.8716 per euro and was 3.3 percent weaker at ¥139.60.
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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