Asian currencies declined this week, led by India’s rupee and South Korea’s won, as concern Europe’s debt crisis will slow the global economic recovery dimmed the outlook for exports and sapped demand for emerging-market assets.
India’s rupee dropped 1 percent this week to 46.84 per US dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The won fell 0.6 percent to 1,201.80, taking its loss for the year to 3.1 percent.
The New Taiwan dollar fell on Friday, reversing earlier gains, as the central bank intervened in the final minute of trading to support exporters.
The central bank asked lenders to provide documents for currency forwards contracts in a move to curb speculation, Spencer Lin, head of the foreign-exchange department, told reporters in a briefing in Taipei on Friday.
The monetary authority sold the NT dollar in four of the past five days at the same time, according to two traders familiar with the central bank’s operations who asked not to be identified.
Taiwan’s dollar weakened 0.2 percent to NT$32.35 against its US counterpart as of the 4pm close, according to Taipei Forex Inc.
The NT dollar earlier advanced as much as 0.4 percent. It reached NT$32.418 on Tuesday and Wednesday, the weakest level since Dec. 22, and was 0.5 percent down for the week.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a