Taiwan Dollar Gains as Exporters Repatriate Funds; Bonds Steady

Taiwan’s dollar touched a one-week high on speculation exporters are repatriating income before the end of the month. Government bonds were steady.

The currency closed little changed at NT$29.956 against its U.S. counterpart, and rose to NT$29.82 earlier, according to Taipei Forex Inc. It has dropped 1.4 percent this quarter and reached NT$30.070 on June 5, the weakest level since Jan. 17. One-month implied volatility, a measure of exchange-rate swings used to price options, declined 11 basis points to 4.19 percent.

“Companies are bringing money back since it’s the end of the month,” said Tarsicio Tong, a currency trader at Union Bank of Taiwan in Taipei. “Investors are also slowing down a bit after the wave of sell-offs in recent weeks.”

Stock indexes rose across Asia for a second day after official data showed orders for U.S. durable goods and contracts to buy existing homes rebounded in May. Foreign funds have sold $999 million more of the island’s stocks than they bought this month, exchange data show, as Europe’s worsening debt crisis deterred risk-taking.

The yield on the 1.25 percent bonds due March 2022 was 1.214 percent, compared with 1.209 percent yesterday, according to Gretai Securities Market. The benchmark 10-year yield fell six basis points, or 0.06 percentage point, this quarter.

The overnight interbank lending rate was steady at 0.513 percent, according to a weighted average compiled by the Taiwan Interbank Money Centre.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Wong in Taipei at awong268@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net