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No Thailand-style currency controls for Taiwan: Perng

Taiwan won't attempt to impose Thai-style currency controls and the nation's currency remains stable, Central Bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) said yesterday in the legislature.

The local currency's exchange rate will be determined by supply and demand, Perng said in response to lawmakers' questions.

"Taiwan has embraced [currency] liberalization and there can be no turning back," Perng said.

The central bank's statistics show that as of Dec. 12, the NT dollar has appreciated by 1.11 percent against its US counterpart from a year earlier.

The NT dollar yesterday closed NT$0.045 lower at NT$32.61 against the US dollar on the Taipei Forex Inc.

Trading was limited to US$372 million from US$664 million on Friday, because financial markets in South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia were closed.

The NT dollar's weak performance yesterday was a result of market speculation that the central bank might attempt to manipulate the currency, traders said.

The local currency also weakened because the latest comments from Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui offered few clues to the direction of Japanese interest rates, they added.

"It is necessary to adjust interest rate levels in line with a change in the economy and consumer prices," Fukui said yesterday.

"However, we don't have in mind any certain levels of policy interest rates or any timing for a change," he said.
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