The New Taiwan dollar surged to a 21-month high against the greenback yesterday to close at NT$31.688, but pared some gains as large purchase orders lifted the greenback from a trough shortly before the close.
The NT dollar rose NT$0.196, a strong showing for the second day in a row that was largely a result of foreign investors' inward remittances for stock purchases and heavy selling pressure on the US dollar from exporters, dealers said.
Turnover yesterday was active, totaling US$1.359 billion at the Taipei Foreign Exchange, down from US$1.481 billion on Tuesday. The US dollar traded at between NT$31.6340 and NT$31.9300, a range of nearly NT$0.3.
A series of lackluster economic indicators combined with recent US market tumbles triggered a selling spree of the US currency, dealers said.
They also said that as the US Federal Reserve is expected to continue cutting rates to stave off a recession, anticipation for a weak greenback kept potential dollar buyers such as importers waiting on the sidelines for better deals.
"The Central Bank has intervened very little since the market resumed trading after the Lunar New Year holidays," said a dealer at a state-owned bank who wished to remain anonymous. "Without substantial demand to bolster its fall, the greenback is likely to hit NT$31.500 soon."
Over the last two trading days, the NT dollar has appreciated NT$0.322, or 1 percent, against the greenback. Compared with the 7 percent gain it posted against the US dollar for the whole of last year, the 1 percent rise over two trading days was a sharp increase.
Dealers also said that since the NT dollar's performance had lagged behind other Asian currencies in climbing against the dollar, traders saw the latest jump as a delayed catch-up.
The NT dollar should gain to NT$31.5 per US dollar by the end of the year, according to the median estimate of 23 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News last month.
Foreign investors registered net stock purchases of NT$5.218 billion on the local bourse yesterday, following net sales of NT$3.637 billion on Tuesday.
The TAIEX slipped 2.05 points, or 0.04 percent, to 7,550.55, with turnover totaling NT$99.134 billion, down from NT$112.748 billion on the previous day, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's tallies showed.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique