The US dollar posted its biggest five-day gain versus the yen in two weeks as fewer Americans lost jobs last month than economists forecast, increasing the likelihood that the US economic recovery remains on track.
The euro gained against the Japan’s currency as Greece’s prime minister prepares to meet with leaders in Paris and Washington to discuss resolving its debt crisis. The yen fell versus South Africa’s rand and Canada’s dollar after the US employment report spurred demand for riskier assets.
“The payrolls number was big from a psychological point of view,” said Sebastien Galy, a currency strategist at BNP Paribas SA in New York. “It’s the end of the double dip scenarios. ”
The US dollar rose 1.5 percent this week to ¥90.28, from ¥88.97 on Feb. 26. The euro traded at US$1.3626, compared with US$1.3631, and gained 1.7 percent to ¥123, from ¥121.26.
Japan’s currency this week fell 5.7 percent, the biggest drop since the five days ended April 3, to 12.1812 per rand. Against Canada’s dollar the yen fell 3.8 percent, the biggest decline since the five days ended Dec. 4.
The euro gained 1.4 percent against the yen this week as Greece’s parliament on Friday gave final approval to the government’s 4.8 billion euros (US$6.5 billion) of additional cuts to the EU’s biggest budget deficit.
The pound tumbled to a 10-month low against the US dollar after opinion polls showed the UK may elect its first minority government since 1974, hampering efforts to curb the nation’s record budget deficit.
The pound fell 0.8 percent against the US dollar in the week to reach US$1.5113 as of 5:30pm in London on Friday. It slid to US$1.4784 on Monday, the lowest level since May 1. It weakened 0.6 percent to £0.8996 per euro.
Asian currencies advanced this week, led by South Korea’s won and Thailand’s baht, as Greece took steps to cut its budget deficit and signs regional central banks will gradually raise interest rates prompted investors to buy higher-yielding assets.
The won climbed 1.7 percent from the end of last week to 1,140.3 per US dollar as of the 3pm close in Seoul, the strongest level since Jan. 21, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Thailand’s baht rose 1.2 percent to 32.64 and Malaysia’s ringgit climbed 1.1 percent to 3.3635.
The New Taiwan dollar fell 0.1 percent on Friday to NT$32.02 against the greenback as of the 4pm close, reversing an earlier advance of as much as 0.3 percent, according to Taipei Forex Inc.
The NT dollar climbed 0.2 percent for the week.
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 Xinyi A13 Department Store 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 at
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
‘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)