The New Taiwan dollar rallied for the fourth straight day yesterday as investors and dealers continued to dump the greenback one day after the US Federal Reserve lowered the interest rate to a range of zero to 0.25 percent to stimulate economic growth.
The currency advanced 0.7 percent, or NT$0.249, to NT$32.471 against its US counterpart at close of trade in Taipei on turnover of US$1.713 billion on the Taipei Forex Inc, company data showed.
With transactions of US$378 million on the smaller Cosmos Foreign Exchange, total trade was US$2.091 billion, according to statistics from the two exchanges. The currency has gained NT$0.887 in four days.
The central bank, which dealers said had spearheaded the selling, reiterated in a statement yesterday that the exchange rate for the NT dollar was “relatively stable.”
A currency dealer, who declined to be named, said the forex market had yet to recover from the shock at the Fed’s bigger-than-expected rate cut, following which savings deposits denominated in the currency would yield little interest.
“The rate cut accounted for the continued selling of US dollars around the world,” the dealer said by telephone. “The central bank itself took part of the selling binge.”
However, the dealer said the rally could slow down today or next week as markets worldwide enter a “sleeping” state for Christmas and New Year holidays.
“Institutional players will then refocus their attention on the economic fundamentals, which leave little room for NT dollars to strengthen in the coming year,” the dealer said on condition of anonymity.
Another dealer, who also preferred to remain anonymous, said exporters had contributed to the NT dollar’s advance.
“It is normal for exporters to trade US dollars for local currency to meet cash demand before the Lunar New Year,” the dealer said by telephone.
The dealer said it was likely that the NT dollar would rise as high as 32 against the greenback during the seasonal adjustment that is expected to last until the Lunar New Year holiday ends at the end of next month.
But the NT dollar could post a decline today as the central bank may consider it time to intervene and halt the selling spree, the dealer said.
“The central bank tends to send warnings on Fridays,” he said.
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