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.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI
Qualcomm Inc, the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, gave an upbeat forecast for sales and profit in the current period, suggesting demand for handsets is increasing after a two-year slump. Revenue in the three months ended in June will be US$8.8 billion to US$9.6 billion, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Excluding certain items, earnings will be US$2.15 to US$2.35 a share. Analysts had projected sales of US$9.08 billion and earnings of US$2.16 a share. The outlook signals that the smartphone market has begun to bounce back, tracking with Qualcomm’s forecast that demand would gradually recover this year. The San