The US dollar fell on Friday, adding to its worst week since April last year against a basket of major currencies, and having surrendered the gains made since US President Donald Trump was elected into office.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six world currencies, has shed more than 2 percent this week.
On Friday, it fell 0.75 percent, hitting its lowest since Nov. 9 last year, the day after the US election.
In Taipei, the New Taiwan dollar rose against the greenback, gaining NT$0.015 to close at NT$30.210, little changed from last week’s NT$30.201.
Uproar over Trump’s firing of former FBI director James Comey, who was overseeing an investigation into possible links between the US president’s team and Russia, has pressured the US dollar.
“The [US] dollar overall, across the board, has been getting beat up this week and a lot of that has to do with the political risk here in [Washington] DC,” said John Doyle, director of markets at Tempus Inc in Washington. “While we saw a little bit of a reprieve yesterday, we’re right back on that dollar weakness train.”
The US currency has also suffered from a resurgent euro, which has the largest weighting in the US dollar index.
The single currency has gained more than 2.5 percent this week, headed for its best performance since February last year.
It rose 0.95 percent on Friday to a six-month high of US$1.1205.
The advance of the euro was spurred by a possible winding down of the European Central Bank’s expansive monetary stimulus program, analysts said, with data pointing to a robust recovery in the eurozone.
Against the safe-haven Swiss franc, the US dollar fell 0.65 percent, touching a six-month low.
The US dollar on Friday fell 0.3 percent against the yen to ¥111.14 and had its first weekly drop in five against the Japanese currency, falling 2 percent.
Oil-linked emerging market currencies like the Mexican and Colombian pesos and the Russian ruble gained about 1 percent against the US dollar, boosted by a rise in oil prices.
Additional reporting by CNA
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