The yen chalked up heavy gains on Friday across the board, extending a week of gains on the back of heightened speculation about a possible revaluation of the Chinese yuan.
The US dollar and particularly the euro were sharply lower versus the Japanese and other Asian currencies, most of which which are seen as potential beneficiaries of any move by China to let its currency appreciate. The yen also benefited from a drop in crude price below US$50 per barrel in the New York afternoon.
The dollar fell to a five-and-a-half week low versus the yen, falling 1.1 percent from late Thursday. The euro plummeted to an 11-week low against the yen, dropping 1.3 percent over the session.
The dollar, which had fallen back earlier in the session, was actually higher versus the euro late in the New York afternoon. The huge drops in the euro-yen exchange rate aided the dollar against the single currency, as did rising US equities and longer-term Treasury yields.
In late New York trading, the dollar was at ¥104.79, from ¥105.98 late Thursday, while the euro fell to ¥134.89, from ¥136.73 late Thursday. The euro has now lost 4 percent versus the yen since Thursday of last week.
The euro was at US$1.2869 from US$1.2894. Versus the Swiss franc, the dollar was at SF1.1951 from SF1.1930, while the pound was at US$1.9074 from US$1.9064.
The talk about a yuan revaluation reached a fevered pitch in the Asian session. A front-page article in Friday's China Securities Journal, a state-owned financial daily, suggested the time was "ripe" for further currency reform, citing unnamed analysts.
However, it was a sudden dip in the dollar's value that spurred speculative activity. After trading in a tiny range of 8.2763 yuan to 8.2765 yuan for most of this year, the US dollar briefly tumbled to a low of 8.2700 against the yuan during the early afternoon in Shanghai's spot market on Friday -- roughly a three-year low.
Within minutes, a fresh wave of revaluation speculation surged around Asian markets. The dollar remained lower even though the dollar/yuan rate quickly bounced back to a normal level and China's central bank said it had no plan to announce any policy change.
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
Micron Technology Inc is a driving force pushing the US Congress to pass legislation that would put new export restrictions on equipment its Chinese competitors use to make their chips, according to people familiar with the matter. A US House of Representatives panel yesterday was to vote on the “MATCH Act,” a bill designed to close gaps in restrictions on chipmaking equipment. It would also pressure foreign companies that sell equipment to Chinese chipmaking facilities to align with export curbs on US companies like Lam Research Corp and Applied Materials Inc. The bill targets facilities operated by China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc
Japan’s reliance on the Middle East for aluminum is forcing companies to cut back on production and scramble for alternative supply sources after key shipping routes were severed due to the Iran conflict. Among the most exposed are auto and parts makers such as Toyota Motor Corp and Denso Corp. Domestic automakers get about 70 percent of their aluminum imports from the Middle East, the nation’s top auto lobby said. The price of the lightweight alloy — used in everything from engine parts to wheels — has jumped about 13 percent since hostilities started in late February. “It’s only been a month, but it’s
RSS