The euro fell this week, heading for its worst week against the yen in two months, after Handelsblatt reported the IMF is discussing aid programs with at least 10 Eastern European governments.
The euro weakened versus 12 of its 16 major counterparts after the German newspaper cited unidentified IMF officials as saying the countries applying for loans for the first time included Bulgaria, Croatia and Macedonia.
The yen and the dollar rose against most major currencies as US stock futures fell, boosting demand for safer assets. The euro also dropped before a French report that economists said will show industrial output slid for a ninth month.
“There are lingering worries over the financial health of eastern and central European countries,” said Tsutomu Soma, a bond and currency dealer at Okasan Securities Co in Tokyo. “Investors are still risk averse, so they’re likely to sell the euro and buy the yen and dollar as safe-haven currencies.”
The euro declined to ¥129.79 as of 7:02am in London from ¥130.36 on Thursday in New York, set for a 3.3 percent loss in the past week, the biggest since the period ended May 15. The euro dropped to US$1.3966 from US$1.4020. Japan’s currency was little changed at ¥92.95 per US dollar from ¥92.99.
India’s rupee and Malaysia’s ringgit led losses in Asian currencies this week as reports showed shrinking global demand for the region’s goods, damping the outlook for an economic recovery.
The rupee had its biggest weekly loss since February after the government projected the budget deficit will widen to the highest in 16 years as India spends more to boost growth. Malaysia’s currency had its worst week in almost five months as exports and factory production extended a slump into May. Japanese machinery orders unexpectedly shrank in May and Taiwan’s overseas sales fell for a 10th straight month last month.
“There was quite a bit of apprehension in the markets,” said Vishnu Varathan, a regional economist at Forecast Singapore Pte. “With the first half coming to an end, funds were trying to pull back a bit. They weren’t sure about the trajectory that was put forth earlier on the global economic recovery.”
The rupee dropped 2.3 percent this week to 49.005 per US dollar in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The ringgit declined 1.4 percent to 3.5775. It touched 3.5855 on July 9, the lowest level since April 29.
The won slid 1.3 percent to 1,282.50 in Seoul.
The New Taiwan dollar dropped 0.5 percent this week to NT$33.05 against the US currency.
Elsewhere, the Singapore dollar weakened 0.6 percent this week to S$1.4623, the Philippine peso fell 0.4 percent to 48.30 and the Thai baht was unchanged at 34.08.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
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