The New Taiwan dollar had its biggest weekly gain in more than three months this week on speculation exports will pick up and the nation’s equities will attract more overseas funds as economic growth gathers pace in China.
The currency reached a 19-month high yesterday after China, the No. 1 destination for shipments from Taiwan, said its economy expanded 11.9 percent in the first quarter, the fastest pace in almost three years.
The NT dollar was little changed on Friday on suspected intervention by the central bank, which said on March 25 it would “maintain order in the foreign-exchange market” if “irregular factors cause large fluctuations.” Bonds were little changed.
The NT dollar traded at NT$31.390 against its US counterpart as of the 4pm close, compared with NT$31.375 on Thursday, according to Taipei Forex Inc.
The Taiwanese currency rose 0.7 percent this week and on Friday reached NT$31.339, the strongest level since August 2008.
The yen advanced against all of its most-traded counterparts as speculation China may take further steps to slow its economy and Greece may trigger a US$61 billion rescue package spurred demand for relative safety.
The US dollar dropped for two straight weeks against the yen for the first time since January after Goldman Sachs Group Inc was charged with fraud, making US stocks less attractive.
Canada’s dollar fell against the greenback for the first time in three weeks after touching parity for a second week before the Bank of Canada’s policy meeting on Tuesday.
“The Greece story isn’t going away soon, and we expect further tightening from China,” said Vassili Serebriakov, a strategist at Wells Fargo & Co in New York. “That’s triggered some caution in the market, and that’s why you’re seeing the yen doing better.”
The yen gained 1.1 percent to ¥124.44 per euro on Friday, from ¥125.79 on April 9. Japan’s currency appreciated 1.1 percent to ¥92.17 against the US dollar, from ¥93.18. It advanced to ¥91.91 on Friday, the strongest level since March 25. The euro was little changed at US$1.3503, compared with US$1.35.
The euro fell for a second straight week versus the yen before talks on Greece involving the EU, the IMF and the European Central Bank that are scheduled to begin tomorrow.
“I see Greece doing the sensible thing and turning its back on the bond market,” said Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut. “We say take it at 5 percent.”
Canada’s dollar slid 1 percent to C$1.0128 versus the greenback this week after trading at C$0.9954 versus the US dollar on April 14, the strongest level since June 2008.
The Bank of Canada will meet on Tuesday to decide on interest rates. Governor Mark Carney signaled last month he’s open to raising the target lending rate as soon as June 1 as inflation and growth outpace forecasts.
The pound climbed for a third week against the US dollar, the longest stretch of gains since November, as reports fueled optimism that the UK’s economic recovery is gathering pace.
The pound gained 0.2 percent in the week to US$1.5398 as of 5pm in London on Friday. It appreciated by the same percentage to £0.8766 per euro.
The Philippine peso and Singapore dollar posted the best weeks in at least four months after reports showed economic growth is gathering pace in Asia.
The peso strengthened 1.3 percent this week to 44.40 per US dollar, its best performance since Dec. 4, according to Tullett Prebon PLC. The Singapore dollar gained 1.3 percent to S$1.3729 against the greenback, the biggest advance since Oct. 9. The South Korean won rose 0.7 percent to 1,110.23.
Elsewhere in the region, the Indonesian rupiah rose 0.2 percent this week to 9,008 per dollar. The Thai baht and China’s yuan were little changed at 32.24 and 6.8255, respectively.
Vietnam’s dong traded at 19,050 compared with 19,040 a week ago.
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