The US dollar yesterday rose against the New Taiwan dollar, gaining NT$0.033 to close at the day’s high of NT$30.108 after rebounding from losses earlier in the day, dealers said.
Market sentiment remained cautious ahead of a US Federal Reserve policymaking meeting to be held today and tomorrow, and the quarterly policymaking meeting of Taiwan’s central bank to be held on Thursday, they said.
The greenback opened at NT$30.049 and moved to a low of NT$30.020 before rebounding. Turnover totaled US$904 million during the session.
Soon after Taiwan’s foreign-exchange market opened, the US dollar faced follow-through selling after the US reported disappointing retail sales data over the weekend, dealers said.
Last month, US retail sales fell 0.2 percent, below an earlier market estimate of a 0.1 percent increase. Industrial production also disappointed the market, falling nearly 1 percent.
The latest economic data led traders in the region to think that the Fed would not hike key interest rates any time soon, which put downward pressure on the US dollar against the region’s major currencies, dealers said.
The South Korean won, which the NT dollar follows closely, also staged a rebound yesterday after slumping last week because of North Korea’s missile launch over northern Japan.
The higher won gave a clear indication to traders in Taiwan to buy into the local currency throughout much of yesterday’s session, dealers said.
However, the US dollar got a boost late in the session as several US-based banks shifted to the buy side, hoping to cash in on the greenback’s early weakness, they said.
Foreign institutional selling in Taiwan’s stock market also helped the US dollar recover from its earlier downturn, dealers said.
According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$2.95 billion (US$97.98 million) in shares on the market.
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