Asian Currencies Update
Marc Chandler submits:
The Taiwanese dollar was the strongest, gaining a little more than 0.2% against the dollar. Foreign investors continued to purchase Taiwanese shares and with today’s almost $170 mln of purchases, brings the month-to-date figure to almost $950 mln. This is on top of the nearly $2 bln in the Jan-July period. Taiwan reported a larger than expected July trade balance of $2.16 bln compared with $1.41 bln in June and expectations for a $1.35 bln surplus. Imports and exports were stronger than expected, with exports rising 38.5% from a year ago vs 34.1% in June. Imports are 42.7% above year ago levels vs 40.4% in June.
The Thai baht is rivaling the Taiwanese dollar today and is also up about 0.2% against the greenback. The central bank opined today that while the baht’s recent rise has ben a bit too fast (~1% over the past month), its rise is unavoidable. Foreign investors have been net sellers of Thai equities in the first seven months of the year, but have turned to the buy side this month. The $207 mln purchases leaves the year-to-date liquidation at about $117 mln. For the record, Thailand’s equity market is up 19.1% this year and is the second best performer in the region behind Indonesia thus from this year.
