The US dollar edged higher on Friday to post a weekly gain, supported by upbeat retail sales data boosting expectations that economic growth accelerated in the second quarter.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six currencies, rose 0.1 percent to 92.71, up 0.63 percent from a week earlier — its biggest weekly rise in about a month.
US retail sales unexpectedly increased last month as demand for goods remained healthy even as spending was shifting back to services.
Photo: Reuters
Solid US data and a shift in interest rate expectations after the US Federal Reserve last month flagged sooner-than-expected hikes in 2023 have helped lift the US dollar in the past few weeks and made investors nervous about shorting it.
Friday’s gains for the greenback came despite Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday reiterating that rising inflation was likely to be transitory and that the US central bank would continue to support the economy.
“The data was consistent with the economy making substantial strides and cements expectations of very robust second quarter growth of around 10 percent,” said Joe Manimbo, a senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington.
“A backdrop of rising inflation, falling unemployment and a resilient consumer makes a compelling case for the Fed to unwind stimulus,” Manimbo said.
In Taipei, the New Taiwan dollar dropped against the US dollar on Friday, losing NT$0.113 to close at NT$28.005, but gained 0.29 percent from a week earlier. Turnover totaled US$1.208 billion during the trading session.
The New Zealand dollar gained 0.37 percent after data showed that New Zealand’s consumer prices rose far faster than expected, prompting some in the market to bet on a rate hike as soon as next month.
Sterling edged lower against the US dollar as investors sought safety in the greenback amid concerns over rising COVID-19 cases globally.
The Canadian dollar climbed 0.1 percent, helped by upbeat domestic wholesale trade data, a day after touching a near three-month low against its US counterpart.
Cryptocurrencies found support after recent turbulence, with bitcoin about flat on the day at US$31,835.59.
Additional reporting by CNA, with staff writer
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
STILL LOADED: Last year’s richest person, Quanta Computer Inc chairman Barry Lam, dropped to second place despite an 8 percent increase in his wealth to US$12.6 billion Staff writer, with CNA Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) and Richard Tsai (蔡明興), the brothers who run Fubon Group (富邦集團), topped the Forbes list of Taiwan’s 50 richest people this year, released on Wednesday in New York. The magazine said that a stronger New Taiwan dollar pushed the combined wealth of Taiwan’s 50 richest people up 13 percent, from US$174 billion to US$197 billion, with 36 of the people on the list seeing their wealth increase. That came as Taiwan’s economy grew 4.6 percent last year, its fastest pace in three years, driven by the strong performance of the semiconductor industry, the magazine said. The Tsai
RSS