The New Taiwan dollar on Friday rose against the US dollar, gaining NT$0.070 to close at NT$30.236, an increase of 0.2 percent from NT$30.302 a week earlier.
Turnover totaled US$987 million during the trading session.
The greenback opened at the day’s high of NT$30.250 and moved to a low of NT$30.170 before rebounding.
Elsewhere on Friday, the US dollar edged higher, but remained on track for its biggest weekly decline in four years, as trillions of US dollars of stimulus efforts by governments and central banks amid the COVID-19 pandemic helped temper a rout in global markets.
The US dollar has this month surged amid a drive for US dollars by investors trying to get their hands on the world’s most liquid currency.
However, big government spending pledges, including a US$2.2 trillion US package, and coordinated efforts by central banks worldwide to increase the supply of US dollars have supported a rally in other major currencies.
An unprecedented jump in US jobless claims on Thursday underscored the coronavirus’ effects on the economy, further weakening the US dollar.
The greenback on Friday gained 0.49 percent against a basket of currencies. It was on course for an about 2.57 percent fall for the week — its biggest weekly decline since February 2016.
Currency markets have been volatile. Last week, the US dollar index racked up its biggest weekly gain since the 2008 financial crisis.
“What we are seeing is abating stress in the money markets. Action by central banks has been successful so far and a shortage of [US] dollars has been taken of the table,” Commerzbank AG head of foreign exchange and commodity research Ulrich Leuchtmann said.
After this month’s large price swings, investors are likely to be especially active in rebalancing their books for month and quarter-end.
The Global Foreign Exchange Committee on Thursday warned that the coming few sessions could be volatile, as market participants execute larger-than-normal trades as part of this process.
Against the yen, the US dollar on Friday fell 0.71 percent to ¥108.80, as Japanese investors and companies repatriated funds before their fiscal year ends next week.
The euro fell 0.66 percent against the greenback to US$1.0955.
“Now that the surge in demand for [US] dollars overseas has been met by the Fed’s new improved swap lines, economic and medical fundamentals are taking over,” BDSwiss Group head of investment research Marshall Gittler said in a note.
NEW IDENTITY: Known for its software, India has expanded into hardware, with its semiconductor industry growing from US$38bn in 2023 to US$45bn to US$50bn India on Saturday inaugurated its first semiconductor assembly and test facility, a milestone in the government’s push to reduce dependence on foreign chipmakers and stake a claim in a sector dominated by China. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened US firm Micron Technology Inc’s semiconductor assembly, test and packaging unit in his home state of Gujarat, hailing the “dawn of a new era” for India’s technology ambitions. “When young Indians look back in the future, they will see this decade as the turning point in our tech future,” Modi told the event, which was broadcast on his YouTube channel. The plant would convert
‘SEISMIC SHIFT’: The researcher forecast there would be about 1.1 billion mobile shipments this year, down from 1.26 billion the prior year and erasing years of gains The global smartphone market is expected to contract 12.9 percent this year due to the unprecedented memorychip shortage, marking “a crisis like no other,” researcher International Data Corp (IDC) said. The new forecast, a dramatic revision down from earlier estimates, gives the latest accounting of the ongoing memory crunch that is affecting every corner of the electronics industry. The demand for advanced memory to power artificial intelligence (AI) tasks has drained global supply until well into next year and jeopardizes the business model of many smartphone makers. IDC forecast about 1.1 billion mobile shipments this year, down from 1.26 billion the prior
People stand in a Pokemon store in Tokyo on Thursday. One of the world highest-grossing franchises is celebrated its 30th anniversary yesterday.
Zimbabwe’s ban on raw lithium exports is forcing Chinese miners to rethink their strategy, speeding up plans to process the metal locally instead of shipping it to China’s vast rechargeable battery industry. The country is Africa’s largest lithium producer and has one of the world’s largest reserves, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Zimbabwe already banned the export of lithium ore in 2022 and last year announced it would halt exports of lithium concentrates from January next year. However, on Wednesday it imposed the ban with immediate effect, leaving unclear what the lithium mining sector would do in the