US debt is 'sound', no concerns about US dollar's reserve role, Taiwan's central bank says
TAIPEI, June 1 (Reuters) - Taiwan's central bank said on Sunday that U.S. government debt is "sound" and still favoured by investors, and there are no worries about the U.S. dollar's position as the leading international reserve currency.
U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff announcement on April 2, which led to a market rout, including in U.S. Treasuries, has cast doubt over the dollar's safe-haven status.
Trump's has made complaints about a strong dollar which have also triggered speculation that Washington wants an adjustment lower in the U.S. currency.
Taiwan's $582.8 billion in foreign exchange reserves are more than 80% made up of U.S. Treasury bonds, according to the island's central bank.
The central bank, responding to what it said were market concerns about U.S. bonds and the U.S. dollar, said on its website there was no cause for alarm.
"There are still no concerns about the U.S. dollar's position as the leading international reserve currency," it said. "U.S. public debt is stable and has good liquidity, and its function as a store of value is still favoured by investors."
The central bank also called on the media and market commentators not to speculate about the foreign exchange rate, given the Taiwan dollar's surge since last month against the U.S. currency on speculation Washington had asked Taipei to let it strengthen as part of tariff talks.
The central bank has repeatedly denied that the United States has made that request.
In its Sunday statement, the central bank said its inspection teams had found that some foreign investors, whom it did not name, had transferred large sums into Taiwan dollar deposit accounts ostensibly to invest in Taiwan stocks.
But no such investments took place, it said, adding foreign investors must use remitted funds to invest in domestic securities if that is what they have declared the money for "and not use the funds to speculate on the Taiwan dollar's exchange rate".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Xu Qiliang, former top Chinese general close to Xi, dies in Beijing
Xu Qiliang, a former air force general who was reportedly close to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, has died at age 75, according to the Defense MInistry. Xu had been a vice commissioner of the body that overseas the People's Liberation Army, the military branch of China's ruling Communist Party, during Xi's first few years in government. China's ultimate leader was at the time incorporating the army and navy into leadership bodies long dominated by the land forces. Xu was an 'excellent Communist Party of China member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, a proletarian military strategist, and an outstanding leader of the People's Liberation Army,' said a statement issued by the ministry. Xu joined the PLA in 1966 just as China was plunged into the violent decade-long Cultural Revolution under Communist China's founder Mao Zedong. After climbing the ranks, Xu wielded considerable influence as a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission without, it appears, falling afoul of China's party anti-corruption forces, who brought down several other high ranking retired and serving military leaders, including two former defense ministers. China has offered no information on the situation involving the pair, stirring rumors of a major shakeup in the ranks concerning corruption or spying for the U.S.. China has not fought a major campaign since the 1950-53 Korean War, so Xu built his career largely on his adherence to the party line and fealty to the leader of the time, who like Xi now, serves as chairman of the Central Military Commission. In a February 2018 report, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Xu as calling on the Chinese army to 'thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the 19th party National Congress and President Xi Jinping's strategy for strengthening the military.' Xu also helped oversee the PLA's transformation into a modern fighting force, eliminating its Cold War-era jets for stealth fighters and nuclear bombers. Xu also met with foreign delegations, including then-U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis in 2018, with whom he discussed 'the importance of substantive military-to-military contacts to reduce risk and strategic uncertainty.' Relations between the militaries have since nose-dived, along with relations in general.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Walmart and Target workers are sharing pics of price increases amid Trump's trade war
Workers at Walmart and Target have been sharing evidence of price hikes that they believe to be caused by Donald Trump's tariffs. Since announcing his "Liberation Day" import taxes at the start of April, Trump has repeatedly raged at companies not to raise their prices — including Walmart, Ford, and Mattel. "Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices," he posted last month. "Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, 'EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I'll be watching, and so will your customers!" But on Reddit boards dedicated to the two U.S. retail giants, eagle-eyed workers have also been tracking the situation. "I work in Toys and we had about 600 price changes in the last couple days... EVERYTHING went up," one user posted last week. "Most things went up $4, but the bigger toys like RCs and hover boards jumped a whole $40-50. It's f***ing crazy." Another said: "I work apparel and we've had to start tearing off the parts on the price tags where they had the original price, 'cause majority went up $5-$10 more." One photo posted by a Walmart worker early May showed a toddler's ring-stacking toy increasing from $5.88 to $19.97 — a 240 percent increase. The toy is currently listed online for $8.23. Meanwhile, a Target worker uploaded a snap of them replacing the $9.99 tag on a six-foot phone charging cable with a new tag for $17.99, jacking up its price by 80 per cent. Other examples reported by Business Insider and Buzzfeed News, posted by both workers and customers, showed a dinosaur toy rising 38 percent from $39.92 to $55; a fishing reel jumping 45 percent from $57.37 to $83.26; a tablet computer climbing 23 percent from $79 to $97; and a roll of tape more than doubling from $4.24 to $9.94. Both Walmart and Target executives have warned that they might soon have to raise prices due to Trump's tariffs on imported goods, which make it more expensive for companies to source products or components from other countries. "We're wired for everyday low prices, but the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb," Walmart's chief financial officer told CNBC last month. It's not clear whether either retailer is raising prices systematically across the board, and inflation figures for April showed little impact from Trump's tariffs. The Independent has asked Walmart and Target for comment. Retailers regularly change prices for all kinds of reasons, such as seasonal sales, temporary supply chain glitches, extreme weather due to global warming, or simple errors. Nevertheless, many store workers on Reddit said they were seeing unusual numbers of price changes in their departments — a labor-intensive process for stores that have not implemented electronic price displays, since every label must be replaced by hand. "Tons of price changes today," reported one Walmart worker in April. "It's been like that since the tariff stuff started," another replied. "Been doing price change everyday for the past four months or so, and seeing everything going up all at once is really making me sad," said a Target worker in late May. "I just feel terrible putting all these ridiculously high prices up." Some shared screenshots purportedly from their companies' internal apps, or photos of the giant stacks of tags they were sorting through, claiming there had been thousands or even tens of thousands of changes at their store. "What the actual F?" posted one Walmart worker in late April, alongside a screenshot showing 5,000 price changes that day alone.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Two Japanese killed in China after business dispute, Kyodo News reports
TOKYO, June 3 (Reuters) - Two Japanese men were killed in Dalian, a city in northeastern China, and a suspect has been detained, Kyodo News reported on Tuesday, citing the Japanese embassy in China. Chinese police notified the Japanese consulate in Shenyang on May 25 about the killings, saying they resulted from a business dispute between acquaintances, the report said.
