The New Taiwan dollar on Friday rose against the US dollar, gaining NT$0.028 to close at NT$30.185 on the back of strength of other currencies in the region, dealers said.
The NT dollar closed at US$30.376 on Friday last week.
Foreign institutional buying in local equities also placed downward pressure on the US dollar throughout the session, sending the currency to a low not seen since Sept. 25, when the unit closed at NT$30.172, the dealers said.
The greenback opened at the day’s high of NT$30.219 and moved to a low of NT$30.162 before rebounding. Turnover totaled US$697 million during the trading session.
Soon after the local foreign exchange market opened, the US dollar came under pressure as traders were motivated by gains posted by other regional currencies to pick up the NT dollar, the dealers said.
The upturn in the regional currencies reflected optimism toward the economic fundamentals in the region after China, the second-largest economy in the world, reported an 18.7 percent increase in imports for last month, beating an estimate of a 13.5 percent rise, as many Chinese firms increased their production equipment purchases, the dealers said.
Meanwhile, further foreign institutional buying in the local equity market, with investors continuing to pick up select high-tech stocks, prompted currency traders to raise their holdings in the NT dollar throughout the session, they added.
Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$2.65 billion (US$87.79 million) of shares on the main board, sending the TAIEX up 0.12 percent at the close of Friday trading. Thursday’s foreign net buy totaled NT$6.28 billion.
Despite the fluctuations of the US dollar, turnover remained moderate, as many traders stayed on the sidelines waiting for the release of inflation data from Washington later in the day, which could serve as one of the critical indications for the US Federal Reserve to adjust its monetary policy, the dealers said.
In addition, the currency market was also watching closely how the US would report its retail data to determine its economic climate, the dealers added.
Elsewhere later on Friday, the US dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies, shaking off early weakness after data showed US consumer prices rose less than expected last month, pointing to muted inflation that could worry Fed officials.
The US Department of Labor on Friday said its consumer price index last month jumped 0.5 percent after advancing 0.4 percent in August.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.6 percent increase.
Last month’s increase was the biggest in eight months, but it stemmed mostly from soaring gasoline prices after hurricane-related production disruptions at oil refineries in the US Gulf Coast area. Underlying inflation remained muted.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, was up 0.02 percent at 93.072 after falling to a more than two-week low of 92.749. The index was down about 0.75 percent for the week, its worst weekly performance in five.
“We did see a knee-jerk reaction that was perhaps overdone. On more sober reflection, traders are coming to bid up the [US] dollar,” said Karl Schamotta, director of global product and market strategy at Cambridge Global Payments in Toronto.
The Fed has raised its benchmark rate twice this year and signaled a third hike later this year.
Financial markets are pricing an about 83 percent probability of a rate increase in December, according to CME Group Inc’s FedWatch tool.
The US dollar edged higher after US President Donald Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal and warning he might ultimately terminate it.
“Trump’s unwillingness to sign the nuclear deal is increasing global risk aversion, making markets more hesitant on the geopolitical outlook,” Schamotta said.
The US dollar slipped 0.37 percent against the Japanese yen to close at ￥111.83.
Japan is the world’s largest creditor nation and traders tend to assume Japanese investors would repatriate funds at times of crisis, thus pushing up the yen.
The euro fell to US$1.1821 after European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said the eurozone continues to need substantial monetary stimulus, as the ECB has not yet managed to increase inflation sufficiently.
“Draghi did definitely pour some cold water on expectations around [the] ECB’s Oct. 26 meeting,” Schamotta said.
The British pound hit an 11-day high in a volatile day of trading and was heading for its best week in four, benefiting from signs that Britain is to be offered a two-year Brexit transition deal.
DOLLAR CHALLENGE: BRICS countries’ growing share of global GDP threatens the US dollar’s dominance, which some member states seek to displace for world trade US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100 percent tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the US dollar. His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRICS alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining. While the US dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed
LIMITED MEASURES: The proposed restrictions on Chinese chip exports are weaker than previously considered, following lobbying by major US firms, sources said US President Joe Biden’s administration is weighing additional curbs on sales of semiconductor equipment and artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips to China that would escalate the US crackdown on Beijing’s tech ambitions, but stop short of some stricter measures previously considered, said sources familiar with the matter. The restrictions could be unveiled as soon as next week, said the sources, who emphasized that the timing and contours of the rules have changed several times, and that nothing is final until they are published. The measures follow months of deliberations by US officials, negotiations with allies in Japan and the Netherlands, and
Qualcomm Inc’s interest in pursuing an acquisition of Intel Corp has cooled, people familiar with the matter said, upending what would have likely been one of the largest technology deals of all time. The complexities associated with acquiring all of Intel has made a deal less attractive to Qualcomm, said some of the people, asking not to be identified discussing confidential matters. It is always possible Qualcomm looks at pieces of Intel instead or rekindles its interest later, they added. Representatives for Qualcomm and Intel declined to comment. Qualcomm made a preliminary approach to Intel on a possible takeover, Bloomberg News and other media
Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) yesterday said it expects any impact of new tariffs from US president-elect Donald Trump to hit the company less than its rivals, citing its global manufacturing footprint. Young Liu (劉揚偉), chairman of the contract manufacturer and key Apple Inc supplier, told reporters after a forum in Taipei that it saw the primary impact of any fresh tariffs falling on its clients because its business model is based on contract manufacturing. “Clients may decide to shift production locations, but looking at Foxconn’s global footprint, we are ahead. As a result, the impact on us is likely smaller compared to
RSS