The dollar topped ¥100 for the first time in five months but weakened against other major currencies on Friday as traders assessed the impact of a weak US employment on economic recovery prospects.
At 9pm GMT, the euro fetched US$1.3483 from US$1.3461 late on Thursday in New York.
The dollar meanwhile rose to ¥100.29 from ¥99.52 as investors welcomed the G20 summit pledge to step up efforts to tackle the economic crisis.
“The actions by Washington and leaders of the 20 largest economies have helped to restore risk appetite,” Kathy Lien at Global Forex Trading said.
In late New York trading, the dollar stood at 1.1301 Swiss francs from SF1.1340 on Thursday.
The pound was at US$1.4836 after US$1.4725.
Asian currencies rose for a fifth week, the longest winning streak since October 2007 in the wake of the G20 summit.
Eight of the 10 most active Asian currencies outside Japan advanced in the week after economic reports in China, the US and the UK fueled speculation that demand for regional exports will strengthen.
The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index, which tracks their performance, touched a two-month high on Thursday.
The South Korean won advanced 0.6 percent this week to 1,341.50 per dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The New Taiwan dollar climbed 1.2 percent to NT$33.38 and the Malaysian ringgit strengthened 1 percent to 3.5803.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of regional equities climbed 1.4 percent during the week.
The NT dollar touched an 11-week high on Thursday before paring its advance on reported intervention. The central bank bought at least US$1.2 billion of US dollars on Thursday to counter foreign investors’ and local corporations’ purchases of the Taiwanese currency, the Taipei-based Economic Daily News said on Friday.
Elsewhere, the Singapore dollar climbed 0.6 percent this week to S$1.5051, Indonesia’s rupiah rose 0.2 percent to 11,475 and the Philippine peso gained 0.4 percent to 47.862.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
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