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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Nation’s foreign exchange reserves fall US$1.3 billion
2025/01/07 03:00
Euro, Hong Kong dollar, US dollar, Japanese yen, British pound and Chinese 100-yuan banknotes are seen in a picture illustration shot on January 21, 2016. Photo: Reuters
By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves last month shed US$1.3 billion to US$576.677 billion due to a flight of capital, but managed to gain US$6.03 billion for the whole of last year, helped by strong exports, the central bank said yesterday.
The results came after foreign portfolio managers cut net holdings in local shares by more than US$30 billion, contributing to the New Taiwan dollar’s annual 6.42 percent decline against the greenback, Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai （蔡炯民） said.
The New Taiwan dollar weakened 0.75 percent against the US dollar last month, relatively stable compared with the Chinese yuan’s 1.09 percent decrease, the euro’s 1.56 percent retreat, the British pound’s 1.28 percent drop and the yen’s 4.05 percent plunge, Tsai said.
Taiwan’s exports have benefited from the boom in artificial intelligence and lent support to the NT dollar, Tsai said, admitting that the central bank intervened several times to slow the local currency’s depreciation in the second half of last year.
Global capital flows to US dollar-denominated assets gained speed in the final quarter of last year after the US economy proved resilient, driving the Federal Reserve to raise its GDP growth and inflation forecasts last month.
US president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats on imports also fueled inflation outlook adjustments, Tsai said, adding that financial markets are now looking at only two interest rate cuts by the Fed this year, from four previously.
“The change spurred global fund redeployments,” Tsai said, as global money is in constant pursuit of investments with better returns.
Taiwan remains the world’s fourth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves after China, Japan and Switzerland, he said.
In related news, the Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday said that it observed US$5.68 billion of capital inflows to the local bourse last month, accounting for the TAIEX’s 3.47 percent gain.
Foreign institutional players last year raised stakes in local shares by US$37.12 billion, attracted by generous cash dividends, the commission said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
