The US dollar on Friday posted its biggest one-day gain against a basket of major currencies so far this year after a strong US payrolls report for last month and comments from National Economic Council director Gary Cohn about lowering the US corporate tax rate.
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major rivals, jumped about 1 percent to a one-week high of 93.774 after the US Department of Labor said non-farm payrolls increased by 209,000 jobs last month and Cohn’s comments.
The index rose 0.6 percent from last week’s 93.26.
Cohn told Bloomberg TV on Friday that the 35 percent US corporate tax rate should be more in line with the 24 percent average rate among other countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The jobs figure beat expectations of economists polled by Reuters for a gain of 183,000, while average hourly earnings increased 0.3 percent to match expectations after rising 0.2 percent in June.
Analysts said traders who had bet against or “shorted” the US dollar — a popular bet as the US dollar index last month posted its biggest monthly drop since March last year — were being forced to repurchase the currency after the jobs data and Cohn’s remarks.
“The jobs number was solid,” said Alvise Marino, foreign-exchange strategist at Credit Suisse Group AG in New York.
He also said Cohn’s comments revived traders’ focus on potential tax reform.
The US dollar index posted its biggest one-day percentage increase since Dec. 15.
In Taipei, the New Taiwan dollar rose against the greenback, gaining NT$0.007 to close at NT$30.220. The NT dollar rose 0.3 percent against the US dollar from last week’s NT$30.302.
The euro on Friday fell more than 1 percent against the US dollar to a four-day low of US$1.1729 before ending the session at US$1.7728. The common currency is up 1.2 percent against the greenback from last week’s US$1.1751.
Against the yen, the US dollar gained as much as 0.9 percent to a one-week high of ¥111.04, rising off seven-week lows. For the week, the greenback fell 0.7 percent against the yen.
The dollar touched 0.9763 francs, its highest against the Swiss currency in more than six weeks.
The US dollar has suffered in recent months, largely on increased doubts that the US Federal Reserve would raise interest rates again this year and obstacles to US President Donald Trump’s agenda, which is seen by investors as pro-growth.
Additional reporting by CNA, with staff writer
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last