Currencies

On November 5, 2024, the day the US voted for its next president, the euro, which is the common currency of 20 countries (out of 27) in the European Union, was equal to 1.0933 US dollars. This “exchange rate” between the top two currencies of the world — roughly 60% of all foreign exchange is held in US dollars and around 20% is held in euros — saw a sharp change between that day when Donald Trump won the election and the day he took the oath of office, January...

Ethereum (ETH) remained just below $2,000 in the Asian session on Tuesday as Standard Chartered's Global Head of Digital Assets Research, Geoffrey Kendrick, updated the bank's 2025 price forecast for ETH. The UK-based financial institution now expects Ethereum to reach $4,000, a significant revision from its earlier projection of $10,000. Solana (SOL) stagnated around the $128 mark on Monday despite multiple bullish catalysts. The recent SOL unlocks by Alameda Research, ahead of FTX creditor repayments, have created a persistent bearish overhang since early March. SUI saw slight gains on Monday as Canary Capital...

BENGALURU: Most Asian equities advanced on Monday after China unveiled fresh measures to boost domestic consumption, although regional investors remained cautious amid escalating global trade tensions. South Korean shares jumped 1.6% to their highest since February 27, while Malaysia’s benchmark climbed 1.1%, extending gains to a third straight session. Taiwan’s main index rose more than 1%. China on Sunday unveiled sweeping measures to boost domestic consumption, including income hikes and childcare subsidies, just days after financial regulators urged an easing of credit restrictions — moves analysts say could revitalise Southeast...

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Foreign investors have flocked to Nigeria’s markets in recent months, as the threat of a US trade war with larger developing economies has sent portfolio managers looking for cover in former crisis-hit frontier markets now on the rebound.The Nigerian naira is among the world’s top-performing currencies since November’s US election with a rise of more than 7 per cent against the dollar, as a turnaround in the continent’s most populous nation —...

India’s bilateral trade transactions with Maldives may also be settled in INR and MVR in addition to the ACU mechanism, the Reserve Bank of India said on Monday.Among the participating central banks on a net multilateral basis, the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) is a payment arrangement whereby the participants settle payments for intra-regional transactions. The participants include central banks and the monetary authorities of Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.For establishing a framework to promote the use of local currencies — Indian rupee (INR)...

Asian stocks jumped on Monday on Beijing’s fresh stimulus measures aimed at boosting consumer spending, while regional currencies traded cautiously as investors weighed mounting trade frictions that threaten global economic growth. Seoul’s benchmark climbed 1.6% to their highest since February 27, while stocks in Kuala Lumpur gained 1.1% in its third consecutive winning session. Shares in Taipei added 0.7% after advancing as much as 1.5% earlier in the session. On Sunday, China unveiled sweeping measures to boost domestic consumption, including income hikes and childcare subsidies, just days after financial regulators...

Mumbai, Mar 17 (PTI) Reserve Bank on Monday said India’s bilateral trade transactions with Maldives may also be settled in INR and/or MVR in addition to the ACU mechanism. Asian Clearing Union (ACU) is a payment arrangement whereby the participants settle payments for intra-regional transactions among the participating central banks on a net multilateral basis. The participants include central banks and the monetary authorities of Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Show Full Article A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between RBI...

Mumbai: Reserve Bank on Monday said India's bilateral trade transactions with Maldives may also be settled in INR and/or MVR in addition to the ACU mechanism. Asian Clearing Union (ACU) is a payment arrangement whereby the participants settle payments for intra-regional transactions among the participating central banks on a net multilateral basis. The participants include central banks and the monetary authorities of Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between RBI and Maldives Monetary Authority in November...

The broader equity market sell-off continued last week, propping up safe-haven assets. Gold’s rally reflected this situation, as the yellow metal broke the $3,000 level for the first time in history. Not even the better-than-anticipated CPI print of 2.8% on Wednesday stopped the trend, which eventually showed signs of exhaustion by Friday. The Bank of Canada held the interest rate at 2.75%, which was in line with expectations, while the UK’s GDP unexpectedly shrank by 0.1% as the production sector fell short of expectations. The Australian dollar, a commodity currency,...

On Monday, the dollar teetered near a five-month low against major global currencies, grappling with the impact of President Donald Trump's unpredictable trade policies and feeble economic indicators from the U.S.Meanwhile, Germany's recent fiscal strategies have infused optimism into the euro, pushing it to a value of $1.0905 and nudging it towards a peak seen last week. The Japanese yen also showed marginal gains, reflecting a broader trend where the dollar struggles against its main counterparts.Observers point to a shift in currency market sentiments, driven by revised expectations on...