The dollar remained weighed down on Friday by concerns that the world's largest economy could lose momentum in future months leading to fresh interest rate cuts.
The lingering worries propelled the euro to a new record high against the US currency of US$1.4967 in Asian trading before the euro retreated in later European and US trading.
The euro stood at US$1.4833 in mid-afternoon trading in New York, marginally lower from US$1.4850 late on Wednesday. The US market was closed on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
The US currency has fallen sharply this year against other world currencies amid a persistent housing slump and an associated credit squeeze which is buffeting economic growth.
The Federal Reserve's move to cut US interest rates in September and last month also pressured the dollar as speculators generally prefer to invest in countries where interest rates are expected to move higher.
The dollar's demise has triggered concern in European capitals where officials are concerned that the euro's sharp rise against the dollar could dent exports.
In Asia South Korea's won had its biggest weekly decline in three months as overseas investors cut holdings of the nation's stocks on concern credit-market losses will slow global economic growth.
The won touched its lowest point in more than two months on Nov. 22 as stock exchange data showed fund managers abroad sold more of the nation's shares than they bought for 12 straight days, the longest stretch since August. The Kospi stock index completed it biggest weekly slid since the five days to Aug. 17.
The won fell 1.4 percent last week to 930.60 per dollar, according to Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd. It was the second straight weekly loss. The currency may weaken to around 942 this week, Yamamoto said.
South Korea's currency fell for a third week against the yen, declining 3.4 percent over the five days to 8.6198, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The Taiwan dollar gained ground on the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange on Friday, gaining NT0.016 to close at NT$32.324. A total of US$964 million changed hands during the day's trading. The US currency opened at NT32.340 and fluctuated between NT$32.321 and NT$32.378.
China's yuan rose beyond 7.4 to the dollar for the first time since a link to the US currency was scrapped in 2005 before a European delegation arrives in Beijing this week to press for faster appreciation.
The People's Bank of China signaled it wanted the yuan to gain as it set the reference rate for the day's trading on Friday at 7.3992 from the close of 7.4145 on Thursday. Xie Fuzhan, a member of the central bank's monetary policy committee, said this week that China's currency is undervalued and increased flexibility is "essential" to make economic growth more stable.
The currency advanced 0.11 percent, the biggest gain in two weeks, to 7.4060 against the dollar in Shanghai from 7.4257 a week ago, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. It reached 7.3912 on Friday, the highest since the end of the dollar link.
A proposed 100 percent tariff on chip imports announced by US President Donald Trump could shift more of Taiwan’s semiconductor production overseas, a Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) researcher said yesterday. Trump’s tariff policy will accelerate the global semiconductor industry’s pace to establish roots in the US, leading to higher supply chain costs and ultimately raising prices of consumer electronics and creating uncertainty for future market demand, Arisa Liu (劉佩真) at the institute’s Taiwan Industry Economics Database said in a telephone interview. Trump’s move signals his intention to "restore the glory of the US semiconductor industry," Liu noted, saying that
On Ireland’s blustery western seaboard, researchers are gleefully flying giant kites — not for fun, but in the hope of generating renewable electricity and sparking a “revolution” in wind energy. “We use a kite to capture the wind and a generator at the bottom of it that captures the power,” said Padraic Doherty of Kitepower, the Dutch firm behind the venture. At its test site in operation since September 2023 near the small town of Bangor Erris, the team transports the vast 60-square-meter kite from a hangar across the lunar-like bogland to a generator. The kite is then attached by a
Foxconn Technology Co (鴻準精密), a metal casing supplier owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), yesterday announced plans to invest US$1 billion in the US over the next decade as part of its business transformation strategy. The Apple Inc supplier said in a statement that its board approved the investment on Thursday, as part of a transformation strategy focused on precision mold development, smart manufacturing, robotics and advanced automation. The strategy would have a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), the company added. The company said it aims to build a flexible, intelligent production ecosystem to boost competitiveness and sustainability. Foxconn
Leading Taiwanese bicycle brands Giant Manufacturing Co (巨大機械) and Merida Industry Co (美利達工業) on Sunday said that they have adopted measures to mitigate the impact of the tariff policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration. The US announced at the beginning of this month that it would impose a 20 percent tariff on imported goods made in Taiwan, effective on Thursday last week. The tariff would be added to other pre-existing most-favored-nation duties and industry-specific trade remedy levy, which would bring the overall tariff on Taiwan-made bicycles to between 25.5 percent and 31 percent. However, Giant did not seem too perturbed by the
RSS