The yen rose to a seven-month high versus the US dollar as Japan’s new government reiterated its opposition to intervening to stem a currency’s gain and the US Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low.
Sterling dropped to a three-month low below US$1.60 this week after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King was quoted by a newspaper as saying the pound’s weakness is aiding in rebalancing the UK’s economy.
The greenback reached a one-year low versus euro on increased demand for riskier assets before a report next week forecast to show US job losses slowed.
“The yen is getting a benefit from the fact that there is no political intervention, and that it’s not the whipping boy,” said Boris Schlossberg, director of currency research in New York at the online currency trader GFT Forex.
Japan’s yen advanced 1.8 percent this week to ¥89.64 per dollar, from ¥91.29 last Friday. It touched ¥89.51 on Friday, the strongest level since Feb. 5. The currency gained 2 percent to ¥131.70 per euro, from ¥134.33 The dollar rose 0.2 percent to US$1.4689 per euro, from US$1.4712, after touching US$1.4844 on Wednesday, the weakest level since Sept. 22, 2008.
Sterling slid 2.1 percent versus the dollar this week after the Newcastle Journal reported on on Wednesday that King called the currency’s drop “very helpful.”
The pound fell on Friday to US$1.5918, the lowest level since June 8, and depreciated to £0.9119 per euro, the weakest level since April 1.
The yen advanced against all its major counterparts except the South Korean won as Japan’s Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Thursday that he has been questioning the idea of “easy intervention.”
Japan’s currency rose 3.6 percent to ¥142.90 versus the pound this week.
South Korea’s won gained this week as increasing confidence the economy is recovering from a recession helped lure funds from overseas.
The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index, which tracks the region’s 10 most-traded currencies excluding the yen, was near the highest level in 11 months after the Asian Development Bank raised its economic growth forecasts for this year and next. The Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah fell on Friday on speculation leaders from the G20 nations would tighten controls on global banks, curbing demand for assets in developing markets.
The won rose 1.8 percent this week to 1,186.00 per dollar in Seoul, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The Philippine peso appreciated 0.7 percent to 47.320, according to Tullett Prebon PLC. The Indian rupee gained 0.2 percent to 47.995 in Mumbai.
Korea’s won had a fifth weekly gain, its longest winning streak since April, and the peso climbed for a fourth week, its best run this year. Consumer sentiment in Korea stayed at a seven-year high this month, according to a report published by the nation’s central bank on Friday.
Malaysia’s ringgit declined 0.2 percent to 3.4711 per dollar on Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. For the week it was up 0.3 percent.
The New Taiwan dollar rose 0.5 percent this week to NT$32.458.
Elsewhere, the Singapore dollar slid 0.1 percent to S$1.4160 versus the greenback this week. The baht rose 0.4 percent to 33.60 and the yuan closed at 6.8282 in Shanghai, from 6.8279 last Friday.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from