The euro gained against the majority of its most-traded counterparts as the central bank saw signs of “stabilization” in the region and investors speculated Greece would convince European leaders to release its aid package.
The euro rose 0.3 percent to US$1.3197 and gained 1.63 percent to ¥102.43 versus the Japanese currency. The yen fell 1.32 percent per US dollar.
FUTURES TRADE
Futures traders decreased bets the euro would fall versus the dollar, lowering so-called net shorts for a second week. The difference between wagers that the shared currency will weaken versus those that it will rise narrowed to 140,593 on Tuesday, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed.
European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said on Thursday it would lower the collateral requirements to access the next three-year loan auction later this month. He also said surveys confirm “signs of stabilization” in the region.
The ECB maintained policy makers’ main refinancing rate at 1 percent, in line with the estimates of 55 of 57 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey.
RALLY
The euro has rallied 4.3 percent versus the US dollar from the low last month of US$1.2624 amid speculation Greek lawmakers would satisfy demands from the European Commission, ECB and IMF to receive the 130 billion euro (US$172 billion) aid package. It is trading US$0.11 above its lifetime average of US$1.2060.
The euro gained 0.1 percent to 1.20959 versus the Swiss franc. It breached the 1.21 mark on Tuesday for the first time since Jan. 25. Swiss central bank interim chairman Thomas Jordan said the currency remains “very strong” and policy makers can’t allow it to appreciate further. The Swiss National Bank imposed a 1.20 cap on the currency on Sept. 19.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure