Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves rose for the 24th consecutive month last month to reach a record high of US$383.84 billion, the central bank said yesterday.
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves were up US$3.33 billion at the end of last month from the previous month, the central bank said in a statement.
Returns from investments made with foreign exchange reserves and gains by the euro and other major currencies against the US dollar contributed to the increase, according to the statement.
The increase of US$3.33 billion in foreign reserves last month was lower than a rise of US$8.44 billion in September, triggering speculation that the central bank had intervened in the currency market to slow down the fast rise in the New Taiwan dollar’s value by purchasing US dollars.
However, the central bank said yesterday the foreign reserve increase in September was the result of interest income and changes in exchange rates, denying speculation the rise was spurred by the monetary authority’s purchases of US dollars.
In Taipei trading yesterday, the New Taiwan dollar closed 0.1 percent higher at NT$30.560 versus the greenback, capping a 0.7 percent weekly gain, according to Taipei Forex Inc.
At one point, the local currency touched NT$30.04, the strongest level since March 2008, on speculation money-printing by the US Federal Reserve will weaken the greenback and boost demand for emerging-market assets.
The NT dollar jumped as much as 1.8 percent in earlier trading yesterday, before surrendering almost all of its gain in the final minutes of trading as the central bank intervened, according to two traders who asked not to be identified.
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