The New Taiwan dollar rose this week by the most in more than a month as global funds added to purchases of Taiwanese assets ahead of government data that will probably show the economy is gathering pace.
Overseas investors bought US$1.6 billion more Taiwanese shares than they sold this week, boosting purchases for the year to US$2.3 billion, according to exchange data.
Government reports this week will show export orders climbed for an 11th month last month and industrial production accelerated, economists predicted in separate Bloomberg surveys.
The NT dollar pared its advance in late trading as the central bank intervened, according to two traders familiar with the matter who declined to be identified.
“The Taiwan dollar’s gain comes from optimism that export growth will continue to rise,” said Tarsicio Tong (湯健揚), a currency trader at Union Bank of Taiwan (聯邦銀行) in Taipei. “Taiwan’s central bank is very determined in slowing any sudden and big advance of the currency.”
The NT dollar rose 0.5 percent this week to close at NT$31.739 against its US counterpart, the best performance since the five-day period ended Aug. 6, according to Taipei Forex Inc.
The currency strengthened 0.2 percent from Thursday. It was trading 0.4 percent higher at NT$31.676 three minutes before the close.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs will say tomorrow that export orders climbed 20.7 percent from a year earlier, compared with a gain of 18.2 percent in July, according to the median estimate of seven economists surveyed.
The ministry will say three days later that industrial production advanced 22 percent last month after having increased 20.7 percent in July, according to a separate survey.
The economy, which contracted 1.9 percent last year, will expand 8.24 percent this year, the statistics bureau forecast on Aug. 19.
India’s rupee led the way as Asian currencies strengthened for a third week, as global investors pumped more funds into the world’s fastest-growing economies.
The rupee appreciated 1.3 percent this week to 45.845 per US dollar in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The yuan was 0.7 percent stronger at 6.7235, the South Korean won climbed 0.4 percent to 1,160.70 and Thailand’s baht rose 0.4 percent to 30.72, a seventh straight weekly gain.
The Philippine peso dropped 0.2 percent this week to 44.188 per US dollar after central bank Governor Amando Tetangco said on Tuesday that policy makers were monitoring gains and signaled action may be taken to curb volatility.
Malaysia’s ringgit rose 0.2 percent this week to 3.1020 per dollar, having reached a 13-year high of 3.0969 on Monday. The Singapore dollar appreciated 0.5 percent to S$1.3340, a fifth straight weekly gain.
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