Asian currencies rose for a fourth week on signs of a pickup in Chinese manufacturing and as US jobs data fueled speculation that the US Federal Reserve will delay cutting its record stimulus.
The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index added 0.1 percent from Oct. 18, as China’s yuan reached its strongest level in 20 years and Indonesia’s rupiah had its best week since June 2009.
“There’s still scope for upside in Asian currencies,” said Choong Yin-pheng, senior manager at Hong Leong Bank Bhd. “The consensus view is that we are not going to see the Fed tapering this year and Chinese data is upbeat.”
In Taipei, the New Taiwan dollar was steady at NT$29.455, compared with NT$29.446 a week ago.
The greenback rose against the Taiwanese currency on Friday, gaining NT$0.003 as central bank intervention helped the greenback recover its earlier losses toward the end of the session, dealers said.
As the US dollar fluctuated in a narrow range throughout the session, it was not necessary for the central bank to try too hard to reverse its losses, the dealers said.
The US currency continued its downturn after the foreign exchange market opened as traders took cues from the strength of most other regional currencies to cut their greenback holdings in exchange for the NT dollar, the dealers said.
The willingness to hold regional currencies grew amid optimism toward China’s economy after HSBC Holdings PLC and Markit Economics released data on Thursday showing that the Purchasing Managers’ Index for this month in the country hit 50.9 — the highest level in seven months — they said.
In Shanghai, the yuan added 0.2 percent from a week ago to 6.0840 per US dollar, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, appreciating for a third week. The yuan rose as high as 6.0802 per US dollar on Friday, the strongest level since the Chinese government unified the official and market exchange rates at the end of 1993.
In Jakarta, the rupiah jumped 2.8 percent to 11,015. The Indonesian currency strengthened for a fourth week as global funds bought more Indonesian stocks than they sold in the four days through Thursday — the first net inflow in a month — according to exchange data.
Malaysia’s ringgit rallied in offshore markets on Friday after the government proposed to cut its budget deficit for next year. The ringgit gained 0.1 percent on Friday to 3.1566 per US dollar in Kuala Lumpur and was little changed from a week ago.
Malaysia plans to cut its fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent of GDP next year from 4 percent this year, the Malaysian Ministry of Finance said in a report. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Friday proposed a goods and services tax from April 2015 to broaden revenue base, and lower corporate and personal income taxes.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s won retreated from a two-year high on suspected intervention from Bank of Korea. The won fell 0.1 percent from a week ago to 1,062.06 per US dollar after government officials said they would act to counter any “herd behavior.”
Ryoo Sang-dai, director-general of Bank of Korea’s international department, on Thursday declined to comment on whether authorities intervened in the currency market, or on the size of the suspected action.
In Thailand, the baht weakened 0.1 percent to 31.089 per US dollar from a week ago. Exports shrank 7.1 percent last month from a year earlier, versus a 3.9 percent gain in August, the Thai government said. The Bank of Thailand cut its growth forecast for this year to 3.7 percent from 4.2 percent.
Elsewhere, India’s rupee weakened 0.3 percent to 61.4600 per US dollar, while Vietnam’s dong gained 0.1 percent to 21,100 and the Philippine peso gained 0.1 percent to 43.035 versus the greenback.
Meanwhile, the US dollar had its first back-to-back weekly losses against the euro in a month as weaker-than-forecast US economic data added to bets the Fed will put off slowing stimulus.
The greenback touched a two-year low against the euro as US employers added fewer jobs than forecast and consumer confidence sagged, while the yen gained for a second week versus the US dollar.
The US currency depreciated 0.8 percent to US$1.3802 per euro this week in New York and touched US$1.3832 on Friday — the weakest level since November 2011 — and declined 0.3 percent to ￥Y97.42.
Europe’s 17-nation shared currency gained 0.5 percent to ￥134.46 in a third weekly advance. It touched ￥135.51 on Tuesday, the highest level since November 2009.
The Bloomberg US Dollar Index fell to an eight-month low on Tuesday after data showed employers added 148,000 workers last month, trailing the forecast for 180,000.
In London, the pound dropped 0.8 percent this week to ￡85.36 per euro after depreciating to ￡85.55 on Thursday, the weakest level since Aug. 29.
The UK currency was little changed against the greenback at US$1.6164 after climbing to US$1.6257 on Wednesday, the highest level since Oct. 1.
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
RSS