The dollar fell against most of its major counterparts as a report showed European nations emerged from their worst recession since World War II, encouraging investors to buy higher-yielding assets.
The euro advanced for a second week against the dollar and approached its highest level since August last year before stalling just short of US$1.5050, a level strategists identified as a threshold for further gains.
The US dollar slid 0.4 percent to US$1.4903 per euro this week, from US$1.4847 last Friday. It touched US$1.5048 on on Wednesday, within a fifth of a cent of the 15-month low reached on Oct. 26.
The greenback dropped for a third week against the yen, falling 0.2 percent to ¥89.66, from ¥89.88. The euro gained 0.1 percent to ¥133.63, from ¥133.45.
The British pound rose for a third week against the greenback on signs the recovery is taking hold, even after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said a weaker currency may help boost the economy.
The pound climbed 0.5 percent in the week to US$1.6689 as of 5:20pm in London on Friday. Sterling was little changed in the five days to £0.8938 per euro.
The pound has advanced 14 percent against the dollar this year and 7 percent against the euro currency.
Asian currencies rose this week, led by the Philippine peso and Indonesia’s rupiah, as signs the global economy is recovering from a slump brightened the outlook for exports and bolstered demand for emerging-market assets.
The peso gained 1.1 percent this week to 46.71 per dollar in Manila, the rupiah climbed 1 percent to 9,366 and the Indian rupee strengthened 1.0 percent to 46.335, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Asia Dollar Index advanced 0.6 percent and the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of regional equities gained 1.6 percent.
The New Taiwan dollar rose 0.5 percent in the week to NT$32.339 against the greenback.
Elsewhere, the ringgit advanced 0.8 percent this week to 3.3785 per dollar, Thailand’s baht climbed 0.3 percent to 33.28 and the Singapore dollar appreciated 0.4 percent to S$1.3870.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2