Asian currencies fell for a fifth week, the longest losing streak since June 2009, after economic reports in the US and China added to global slowdown signs and Europe’s debt crisis escalated.
The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index slid 0.6 percent, capping a 2.6 percent slump since April 27, as the New Taiwan dollar completed its biggest weekly loss since September last year and India’s rupee sank to an all-time low.
Manufacturing in China grew last month at the slowest pace this year, trailing 26 of 27 estimates in a Bloomberg survey, according to an index published by the -statistics bureau and logistics federation yesterday.
The New Taiwan dollar slid 0.9 percent to NT$29.931 this week and Malaysia’s ringgit fell 1.8 percent to 3.2100 per US dollar in Kuala Lumpur, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. India’s rupee slumped 0.4 percent to 55.5850, and Thailand’s baht lost 0.7 percent to 31.90. China’s yuan declined 0.4 percent to 6.3690, its biggest drop since January.
The Chinese manufacturing report followed data published on Friday that showed more Americans applied for jobless benefits in the week ending May 26 and private employment climbed 133,000 last month, compared with the median estimate of 150,000 in a Bloomberg News survey.
A global slowdown and speculation Greece could exit the 17-nation eurozone wiped US$4.5 trillion in market value from global stocks last month. Global funds pulled US$7.3 billion from equities in Taiwan and South Korea last month, exchange data showed. Foreigners also sold US$825 million more Indonesian shares than they bought and took US$470 million out of Thai stocks.
The Asia Dollar Index touched 113.74 on Friday, the lowest level since September 2010. The rupee lost 6 percent last month and touched a record-low of 56.515 to the US dollar on Friday, when the government reported economic growth of 5.3 percent for the last quarter, the slowest expansion in nine years.
Indonesia’s rupiah fell 0.6 percent to 9,528 to the US dollar this week in Jakarta, after reaching 9,643 on Friday, that marked the lowest level since October 2009. Offshore investors cut government debt holdings by 4.3 trillion rupiah (US$452 million) last month, according to Indonesian Ministry of Finance data on Thursday.
The Philippine peso strengthened 0.8 percent this week to 43.393 to the US dollar. Moody’s Investors Service raised the nation’s credit rating outlook to positive on -Tuesday and data showed on Friday that the economy grew 6.4 percent in the three months through March, faster than the 4.3 percent expansion forecast in a Bloomberg survey.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s won gained 0.7 percent to 1,177.83 to the US dollar and Vietnam’s dong fell 0.1 percent to 20,870.
Falling euro
The euro fell to an 11-year low against the yen and an almost three-year low against the dollar as Spanish officials debated how to fund a bailout of Bankia group, the nation’s third largest lender.
However, the greenback fell after a report showed the US added the fewest jobs in a year last month, increasing bets the US Federal Reserve would introduce further stimulus, which might debase the currency. The European Central Bank will publish its latest economic projections when it meets on Wednesday.
The yen rose 2.8 percent to 97.01 per euro, gaining for the sixth straight week and reaching 95.60 on Friday, the strongest level since November 2000. The Japanese currency strengthened 2.1 percent against the greenback to ￥78.02, touching ￥77.66, the strongest since Feb. 14. The euro lost 0.7 percent to US$1.2434 and fell as low as US$1.2288, a level not seen since July 2010.
HORMUZ ISSUE: The US president said he expected crude prices to drop at the end of the war, which he called a ‘minor excursion’ that could continue ‘for a little while’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait started reducing oil production, as the near-closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz ripples through energy markets and affects global supply. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is “managing offshore production levels to address storage requirements,” the company said in a statement, without giving details. Kuwait Petroleum Corp said it was lowering production at its oil fields and refineries after “Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.” The war in the Middle East has all but closed Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the open seas,
Taiwan has enough crude oil reserves for more than 100 days and sufficient natural gas reserves for more than 11 days, both above the regulatory safety requirement, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, adding that the government would prioritize domestic price stability as conflicts in the Middle East continue. Overall, energy supply for this month is secure, and the government is continuing efforts to ensure sufficient supply for next month, Kung told reporters after meeting with representatives from business groups at the ministry in Taipei. The ministry has been holding daily cross-ministry meetings at the Executive Yuan to ensure
RATIONING: The proposal would give the Trump administration ample leverage to negotiate investments in the US as it decides how many chips to give each country US officials are debating a new regulatory framework for exporting artificial intelligence (AI) chips and are considering requiring foreign nations to invest in US AI data centers or security guarantees as a condition for granting exports of 200,000 chips or more, according to a document seen by Reuters. The rules are not yet final and could change. They would be the first attempt to regulate the flow of AI chips to US allies and partners since US President Donald Trump’s administration said it rescinded its predecessor’s so-called AI diffusion rules. Those rules sought to keep a significant amount of AI
A new worry has been rippling across the stock market lately: Entire businesses, not just their employees, might be thrown out of work. While most economists say fears of an artificial intelligence (AI) job apocalypse are overblown, seismic shifts have happened in the past after big tech breakthroughs. The IT revolution of the 1990s led to a surge in productivity that sped up the US economy for several years. It also rendered companies or even industries largely redundant — from travel agents and stockbrokers to classified advertising and newspapers, or video rental stores. Economists expect AI would deliver higher productivity,
RSS