The New Taiwan dollar on Friday fell against the US dollar, shedding NT$0.008 to close at NT$30.902.
The greenback opened at NT$30.900 and moved between NT$30.868 and NT$30.915 before the close. Turnover totaled US$506 million during the trading session.
That compared with a close of NT$30.888 on Nov. 16.
Elsewhere, the US dollar rose on Friday, posting its biggest weekly percentage increase in a month, as risk appetite declined and investors sought the currency’s safety following a steep drop in oil prices that suggested global growth is slowing.
The safe-haven yen and Swiss franc also advanced.
The drop in oil prices fueled a risk-off wave across the board.
“Risk aversion has been the main driver all week, with oil prices driving market sentiment,” Bank of Nova Scotia chief foreign exchange strategist Shaun Osborne said in Toronto.
“The [US] dollar is better overall for the week because of the risk-off stance, despite a fairly significant pricing out of 2019 rate hike expectations,” he added.
In afternoon trading, the US dollar index was up 0.3 percent at 96.959. It has gained in five of the past six sessions.
However, the US dollar’s near-term outlook has dimmed a little bit, as some US economic numbers have come in weaker than expected and several US Federal Reserve officials have struck a cautious tone on the economy.
All told, investors increasingly believe that the Fed might be nearing the end of its tightening cycle.
However, Rabobank Groep London-based senior foreign exchange strategist Jane Foley said that she believes the dollar will still find decent support, as investors are likely to remain cautious on emerging-market assets.
“The huge liquidity associated with the greenback, the fact that there is no real default risk on US Treasuries and the credibility of the US legal system are enough to endow the US dollar with sufficient safe-haven appeal for many investors,” Foley said.
On the other hand, the euro fell to a one-week low on signs economic growth could be slowing across the eurozone, with worries about Brexit and Italy’s budget negotiations also weighing on the single currency.
Business growth in the eurozone slowed much more quickly than expected this month, a purchasing managers’ index showed.
After German private-sector growth slowed to its lowest level in nearly four years, the euro dropped into negative territory and was last down 0.7 percent at US$1.1329.
In other currency trading, the yen rose broadly on fears about the implications of lower oil prices on global growth. The US dollar slipped 0.1 percent against the yen to ￥112.86, while the euro tumbled 0.7 percent to ￥127.86.
The Australian dollar, often considered a gauge for global risk appetite, weakened 0.4 percent to US$0.7225.
Analysts expect the Australian dollar to remain subdued ahead of a meeting between US and Chinese leaders at a G20 meeting in Argentina at the end of the month, with markets watching for any sign of whether they might agree to de-escalate their trade war.
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