Sun, Sep 17, 2017 page14

• NT dollar rises on growing regional tension

  TIMING: A policymaker said that the next few months could be a good time for a rate increase by the Bank of England, pushing the pound to its highest since the Brexit vote

  • Staff writer, with CNA and Reuters
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  The New Taiwan dollar on Friday rose against the US dollar, gaining NT$0.031 to close at NT$30.075 as renewed geopolitical tension failed to prompt traders to park more of their funds in greenback-denominated assets as a safe haven, dealers said.

  The People’s Bank of China raised the Chinese yuan’s reference rate against the US dollar, giving support to the NT dollar, while foreign institutional selling in local equities helped the greenback fend off some downward pressure by the end of the session, the dealers said.

  The greenback on Friday opened at the day’s high of NT$30.130 and moved to a low of NT$30.034 before rebounding. Turnover totaled US$771 million during the trading session.

  The NT dollar fell 0.2 percent against the greenback from NT$30.006 on Sept. 8.

  Soon after the local foreign exchange market opened, the US dollar attracted buying, a knee-jerk reaction to North Korea’s launch of a missile over Japan early on Friday, the dealers said.

  However, interest in the greenback seemed to fade later in the session as traders composed themselves from the initial shock of Pyongyang’s missile launch, indicating that the impact seemed to be marginalized in the financial markets to some extent, they added.

  Traders shifted their attention to the Chinese central bank’s decision to raise the yuan’s reference rate, helping the Chinese currency break a five-session losing streak, the dealers said, adding that the higher yuan gave a strong indication that Chinese authorities did not want to see their currency affected by Pyongyang’s missile threat.

  The strength of the yuan also encouraged local traders to buy into the NT dollar, pushing the US dollar down into negative territory, the dealers said.

  However, the losses posted by the greenback were capped by foreign institutional selling in local equities, the dealers added.

  Foreign institutional investors on Friday sold a net NT$873 million (US$29 million) of shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.

  Elsewhere on Friday, the US dollar weakened against most major currencies, weighed down by an unexpected decline in US retail sales last month that once again dimmed expectations for an interest rate increase in December.

  US retail sales unexpectedly fell last month as Hurricane Harvey likely depressed vehicle purchases, dropping 0.2 percent last month.

  Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales nudging up 0.1 percent.

  Looking ahead, the market is now focused on next week’s US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, in which the Fed is expected to start reducing its balance sheet.

  However, there is zero expectation for an interest rate hike.

  “The Fed’s tone and stance during next week’s FOMC statement and press conference will play a major role in setting expectations for interest rates, the Fed’s balance sheet reduction plans and the US dollar going forward,” Bedminster, New Jersey-based Forex.com head of research James Chen said.

  Currency traders also brushed off the latest missile fired by North Korea in a volatile day of trading on Friday.

  The US dollar initially dipped against the safe-haven yen after the missile launch.

  However, the yen’s fall against the US dollar raised questions about investors’ willingness to buy Japanese assets when Japan is in North Korea’s firing line.

  In late trading, the US dollar rose 0.6 percent to ￥110.88, posting its best weekly percentage gain since November last year.

  The euro was up 0.2 percent at US$1.1940, staying below a two-and-a-half-year high set last week. That pushed the US dollar index to 91.868, down 0.3 percent on the day.

  Meanwhile, sterling slammed the US dollar as well, after a Bank of England policymaker opened the door for a possible rate increase in the coming months.

  Bank of England policymaker Gertjan Vlieghe said “the appropriate time for a rise in bank rate might be as early as in the coming months.”

  That helped push the pound to more than US$1.36, its highest since the results of last year’s vote to leave the EU, putting it on track for its best week against the greenback since October 2009.
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