The euro fell for a third straight month against the US dollar, its longest losing streak since November 2008, as Greece’s debt woes weighed on the region’s economic outlook.
The 16-nation currency posted its first weekly gain against the greenback, snapping six weeks of decline, after a report on Friday that Germany may consider buying Greek bonds through a state-owned lender. The European Central Bank is expected to keep its refinancing rate at 1 percent after its monetary policy meeting next week, according to all 51 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
The euro this month lost 1.7 percent against the US dollar and 3.2 percent against the yen.
The euro rose 0.13 percent this week against the greenback, its first weekly gain since Jan. 8. It reached US$1.3444 on Feb. 19, its weakest level since May 18. For the week it declined 2.7 percent versus the yen and touched ¥119.66 on Feb. 25, the first time the currency has fallen below the ¥120 level since Feb. 24 last year.
The greenback fell for the first week in three versus the yen as an increase in jobless claims and plunge in consumer confidence tempered speculation the US economy will recover more swiftly than other nations.
The pound had its biggest weekly slide against the euro in five months and gilts rose as Bank of England policy makers signaled further measures may be needed to boost the UK’s ailing economy.
The pound depreciated 1.8 percent against the euro to £0.8955, the biggest drop since Sept. 25. Sterling fell 1.9 percent against the US dollar to US$1.5176 after reaching US$1.5164, the lowest level since May 18. The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilt fell 14 basis points to 4.04 percent and the two-year note yield declined 20 basis points to 0.94 percent.
Asian currencies strengthened this week, led by Singapore’s dollar and Malaysia’s ringgit, after government reports showed economic recoveries in the region are gathering pace.
Singapore’s dollar appreciated 0.7 percent to S$1.4058 against the US currency, while the ringgit rose 0.3 percent to 3.4000, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
South Korea’s won appreciated 0.1 percent this week to 1,159.85 per US dollar in Seoul. It gained 0.3 percent on Friday, as the outlook for factory production brightened.
The New Taiwan dollar strengthened on Friday, snapping a two-day loss, on speculation exporters converted overseas earnings to settle month-end bills.
The NT dollar climbed 0.1 percent to NT$32.085 against its US counterpart at the 4pm close on Friday, according to Taipei Forex Inc. It weakened 0.4 percent this month, the worst performer among Asia’s 10 most-traded currencies excluding the yen.
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
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