The US dollar gained the most against the euro in six months on concern the global recovery may stall as economic stimulus winds down, reducing demand for higher-yielding assets funded by the greenback.
The pound touched the strongest level against the euro this week since September after gains in consumer confidence and mortgage approvals added to signs an economic recovery is taking hold in the UK. The advance in the dollar before next’s week Federal Reserve announcement pared a fourth consecutive monthly loss, part of the longest losing streak since 2004.
The US dollar advanced 2 percent to US$1.4719 per euro on Friday, from US$1.5008 on Oct. 23. It was the biggest gain since a 2.3 percent rise in the five days ended April 10.
The dollar rallied from a 14-month low of US$1.5063 against the euro on Monday.
The euro decreased 4.2 percent to ¥132.61, from ¥138.15, in the biggest drop since May. The US dollar fell 2.1 percent to ¥90.09, from ¥89.64. It touched a level lower than ¥90 on Friday for the first time since Oct. 15.
Sterling rallied 2.8 percent to £0.8944 per euro as reports showed UK mortgage approvals climbed in September to the highest level in 18 months and consumer confidence rose.
The pound touched £0.8912 against the euro on Thursday, the strongest level since Sept. 17. Britain’s currency gained 0.9 percent to US$1.6452.
Asian currencies declined for a second week, led by the Indonesian rupiah and Indian rupee, as unexpected slides in US home sales and consumer confidence fueled concern about the speed of a global economic recovery.
The rupiah dropped 1.6 percent this week to 9,585 per dollar, India’s rupee fell 1.0 percent to 46.9729 and the Malaysian ringgit slid 0.9 percent to 3.4138. All three were still up for the month.
The Korean won ended the week 0.1 percent lower at 1,182.05 in Seoul. The currency, which has strengthened 9 percent in the past six months, reached a five-week low of 1,205.75 per dollar on Thursday.
The New Taiwan dollar declined 0.4 percent this week to NT$32.535 against the US currency.
Elsewhere, the Philippine peso fell 1.3 percent this week to 47.595. The Singapore dollar dropped 0.3 percent to S$1.3978, while the Thai baht was little changed at 33.43.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary