The euro fell for a fourth week, its longest streak of losses since September, as declining consumer prices backed the case for further monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank (ECB).
The US dollar pared a fourth week of gains as traders weighed a US jobs report showing wages declined last month. Speculators boosted wagers on the US dollar versus eight of its major peers to a record high before the US releases consumer price data on Jan. 16.
The euro touched a nine-year low versus the greenback and slid to its weakest since October against the yen as an official said ECB policymakers met to discuss government-bond purchases under the quantitative-easing (QE) strategy. Russia’s ruble tumbled as oil fell below US$50 a barrel.
“The expectations of QE have been building and were reinforced by the comments this week and the CPI data,” said Vassili Serebriakov, a New York-based foreign-exchange strategist at BNP Paribas SA. “We might not get a much weaker euro immediately after the announcement, but, overall, if QE continues, the euro should be a key funding currency and will weaken over time.”
The 19-nation shared currency declined 1.3 percent to US$1.1842 this week in New York, after reaching US$1.1754 on Thursday.
The euro slipped a second week against the yen, losing 3 percent to ¥140.32 and touching ¥140.19. The Japanese currency rose for the first time in four weeks versus the US dollar, adding 1.7 percent to ¥118.50.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the US currency against 10 major peers, was little changed for the week at 1,141.13. It closed at 1,147.54 on Thursday, the highest in data going back to 2004.
Brazil’s real rose the most of the US dollar’s 31 major peers this week, after a four-day streak of gains. The currency rose 2.3 percent, the most since November.
The ruble led currencies lower, sliding 5.3 percent, as the oil selloff continued. Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half of the world’s oil, declined to US$48.90 a barrel on Thursday, the least since April 2009.
The Czech Republic’s koruna fell the most in 14 months as growing deflation risk fueled speculation the nation’s central bank will try to weaken the currency. It dropped 3 percent.
The pound dropped to its weakest level in 17 months against the US dollar as economic data added weight to speculation that the UK recovery is too frail for the Bank of England to raise interest rates this year.
Sterling, in its fourth week losing ground versus the US currency, depreciated against most of its 16 major peers in the past five days as reports showed manufacturing and services growth slowed last month and construction output rose less than economists forecast.
Central bank policymakers meeting in London kept the benchmark rate at a record-low 0.5 percent on Thursday. UK government bonds advanced, pushing the 30-year yield to a record low.
The pound fell 1.1 percent in the week to US$1.5155 at 5:18pm in London on Friday, having reached US$1.5035 on Thursday, the weakest level since July 2013. Sterling rose 0.3 percent to £0.7811 per euro.
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
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
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks