The New Taiwan dollar on Thursday fell against the US dollar, shedding NT$0.012 to close at NT$31.402.
However, that was a gain of 0.7 percent from a close of NT$31.612 on May 31.
Turnover totaled US$761 million during the trading session, the last of the week, as the market was closed on Friday for the Dragon Boat Festival holiday long weekend.
The greenback opened at NT$31.4, and moved between NT$31.349 and NT$31.417 before the close.
Elsewhere on Friday, the euro was headed for its best week since September last year, largely due to weakness in the US dollar.
US nonfarm payrolls data for last month showed a drop in hiring, which investors said could bolster the case for the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this year.
The prospects of the Fed reacting to an escalating US-China trade row by cutting rates this week dragged the US dollar to a two-month low and helped the euro rise to more than US$1.13.
The US dollar was marginally up on Friday, but still headed for its worst week since March.
Meanwhile, the euro relinquished all of its gains from Thursday after a policy review by the European Central Bank that was less dovish than expected.
It was down 0.1 percent to US$1.1269, but still set for a weekly gain of 0.9 percent, its best weekly performance against the US dollar since late September.
“The NFP [nonfarm payrolls] series, more than most, tends to hold up until it falls off the edge of a cliff, and that cliff is getting closer,” Societe Generale SA strategist Kit Juckes said.
A slowdown in the US labor market was evident in a worse-than-expected ADP National Employment Report released on Wednesday.
Others were more sanguine about the US dollar’s prospects.
“I believe the market’s assumption that the Fed is going to cut interest rates soon is premature. For now, the Fed can afford to remain patient,” ACLS Global analyst Marshall Gittler said.
“I would expect the dollar to recover over the medium term, although it may take some time before people realize that a rate cut is not imminent,” Gittler added.
The European Central Bank on Thursday ruled out raising rates in the next year and even opened the door to buying more bonds as a global trade war and Brexit drag the eurozone economy down.
However, the market had been expecting a stronger hint of a rate cut, and consequently the euro and eurozone bond yields rose, putting more pressure on the US dollar.
Against a basket of six other major currencies, the US dollar was steady at 97.115, trading about 0.3 percent above Wednesday’s eight-week low of 96.749.
The US dollar index was on course for a 0.72 percent loss this week, its worst weekly performance since the week of March 15, when it gave up 0.73 percent.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Standard Chartered Taiwan on March 26 announced that it has partnered with international fintech firm FinIQ to build an “Automated Structured Products Pricing Platform.” The bank is also introducing products from global issuers including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Barclays PLC and BNP Paribas SA. The new platform enables an end-to-end process whereby it finds the most competitive pricing across multiple issuers in a matter of minutes, followed by automated documentation and transaction execution, which significantly shortens time-to-market and delivers a superior wealth management experience. Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan CEO Anthony Yu (游天立) said: “Standard Chartered is increasingly leveraging its wealth management