The euro weakened against the US dollar on Friday, with investors betting the US economy will get back on track faster than the eurozone amid global turmoil.
The euro was at US$1.2757 around 7pm GMT, compared with US$1.2913 late on Thursday.
Foreign exchange dealers said the dollar recovered quickly from mid-week losses after the US Federal Reserve slashed its key interest rate half a point on Wednesday to a historic low 1 percent.
Despite the US being the worst affected by the financial crisis, with several major banks collapsing, the US economy is the biggest and most resilient in the world, they said.
Investors thus feel the safer course in the longer term is to hold the dollar and US assets in the belief that recovery, however long it takes, will occur there first.
The dollar also got a boost from technical factors, dealers said, with the end of the month a time for settling accounts and fund managers likely looking to cover positions.
“Everyone wants to know how long the global recession will last, but with financial markets gyrating dramatically on a daily basis, this question is still largely unanswerable,” Dario Perkins of ABN Amro said.
Other analysts noted concern about stresses in the eurozone as the financial crisis bites deeper while eastern Europe is already under pressure — Ukraine and Hungary both having sought help from the IMF.
As the week drew to a close, markets were shifting attention to Europe, where the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are expected to cut their rates in the week ahead.
In New York trading, the dollar stood at 1.1549 Swiss francs, up from SF1.1430 late on Thursday.
The pound was at US$1.6139, down from US$1.6399.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source