The New Taiwan dollar on Friday rose against the US dollar, gaining NT$0.025 to close at NT$31.150, an increase of 1.2 percent from NT$31.530 a week earlier.
Turnover totaled US$1.445 billion during the trading session.
The greenback opened at NT$31.100 and moved between NT$31.000 and NT$31.151.
Elsewhere on Friday, the US dollar fell to three-month lows against a basket of currencies on bets that the US Federal Reserve would start lowering interest rates, while the yen rose to a five-month high versus the greenback on growing tensions between Iran and the US.
The greenback’s weakness propelled the euro to three-month highs. The single currency was also buoyed by stronger-than-forecast survey data on French and German business activity.
The US dollar extended its losses for three straight sessions since the Fed on Wednesday signaled that it was prepared to lower interest rates later this year.
The Fed and the European Central Bank (ECB) this week hinted that they were open to ease policies to counter a global economic slowdown, exacerbated by global trade tensions.
“Now it’s going to be a horse race between the Fed and ECB on policy easing,” Columbia Threadneedle Investments senior rates and currency analyst Ed al-Hussainy said in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The focus now shifts to whether Washington and Beijing can resolve their trade dispute at a summit in Japan next week of G20 leaders.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) are to meet at the G20 next weekend, but analysts have said that chances of a decisive breakthrough are low.
The greenback was 0.67 percent lower at US$1.1368 per euro after touching US$1.1334, the lowest since March 22.
Against a basket of currencies, the US dollar was 0.42 percent lower at 96.219 after hitting 96.204, the lowest since March 21.
The US dollar enjoyed a brief respite on news of stronger-than-forecast sales in US existing homes last month. The encouraging news offset IHS Markit Ltd data that showed manufacturing growth this month weakened to its most sluggish level since September 2009, while services sector activity slumped to its lowest level since February 2016.
Friday’s US data did not change traders expectations that the Fed would lower key lending rates, as early as next month. They priced in the probability policymakers would have reduced rates by at least 75 basis points by year-end, based on calculations by CME Group Inc’s FedWatch tool on its interest rates futures.
Meanwhile, Iran’s downing of an uncrewed US surveillance drone stoked fears about a military conflict between the two nations following a spate of attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf region.
An initial wave of safe-haven buying of the yen faded following news that Trump shelved a missile strike against Iran and preferred dialogue with Tehran, especially over its nuclear program.
The yen moved to ￥107.045 per US dollar in Asian trading, its strongest level since Jan. 3. It was last down 0.08 percent at ￥107.4.
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