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.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
South Korea yesterday said that it was removing loudspeakers used to blare K-pop and news reports to North Korea, as the new administration in Seoul tries to ease tensions with its bellicose neighbor. The nations, still technically at war, had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, Seoul’s military said in June after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. It said in June that Pyongyang stopped transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean residents, a day after South Korea’s loudspeakers fell silent. “Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers,”
RSS