The New Taiwan dollar on Friday rose against the US dollar, gaining NT$0.070 to close at NT$30.236, an increase of 0.2 percent from NT$30.302 a week earlier.
Turnover totaled US$987 million during the trading session.
The greenback opened at the day’s high of NT$30.250 and moved to a low of NT$30.170 before rebounding.
Elsewhere on Friday, the US dollar edged higher, but remained on track for its biggest weekly decline in four years, as trillions of US dollars of stimulus efforts by governments and central banks amid the COVID-19 pandemic helped temper a rout in global markets.
The US dollar has this month surged amid a drive for US dollars by investors trying to get their hands on the world’s most liquid currency.
However, big government spending pledges, including a US$2.2 trillion US package, and coordinated efforts by central banks worldwide to increase the supply of US dollars have supported a rally in other major currencies.
An unprecedented jump in US jobless claims on Thursday underscored the coronavirus’ effects on the economy, further weakening the US dollar.
The greenback on Friday gained 0.49 percent against a basket of currencies. It was on course for an about 2.57 percent fall for the week — its biggest weekly decline since February 2016.
Currency markets have been volatile. Last week, the US dollar index racked up its biggest weekly gain since the 2008 financial crisis.
“What we are seeing is abating stress in the money markets. Action by central banks has been successful so far and a shortage of [US] dollars has been taken of the table,” Commerzbank AG head of foreign exchange and commodity research Ulrich Leuchtmann said.
After this month’s large price swings, investors are likely to be especially active in rebalancing their books for month and quarter-end.
The Global Foreign Exchange Committee on Thursday warned that the coming few sessions could be volatile, as market participants execute larger-than-normal trades as part of this process.
Against the yen, the US dollar on Friday fell 0.71 percent to ¥108.80, as Japanese investors and companies repatriated funds before their fiscal year ends next week.
The euro fell 0.66 percent against the greenback to US$1.0955.
“Now that the surge in demand for [US] dollars overseas has been met by the Fed’s new improved swap lines, economic and medical fundamentals are taking over,” BDSwiss Group head of investment research Marshall Gittler said in a note.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
CHANGING JAPAN: Nvidia-powered AI services over cellular networks ‘will result in an artificial intelligence grid that runs across Japan,’ Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. That computer would be based on Nvidia’s DGX B200 product, which combines computer processors with so-called AI accelerator chips. A follow-up effort will feature Grace Blackwell, a more advanced version, the company said. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a