Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) The U.S. dollar fell against the Taiwan dollar Wednesday, shedding NT$0.028 to close at NT$29.600 after recovering from an early low as traders locked in gains for the local currency, dealers said.

The U.S. dollar, which fell for the second consecutive session on further foreign fund inflows, ended the day at its lowest level since Nov. 20, 2013, when it finished at NT$29.572, they said.

The greenback opened at NT$29.600, and moved between NT$29.525 and NT$29.627 before the close. Turnover totaled US$755 million during the trading session.

Soon after the local foreign exchange market opened, the U.S. dollar faced selling, falling to the day's low as traders took their cue from more foreign fund inflows into the country, dealers said.

A rising equity market on the back of aggressive foreign institutional buying also gave a boost to the Taiwan dollar and pushed the U.S. dollar down, dealers added.

According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$3.83 billion (US$129 million) worth of shares on the main board, sending the weighted index up 0.85 percent at the end of Wednesday's session. On Tuesday, net buying by foreign institutional investors hit NT$8.65 billion.

After a strong showing in the morning session, the Taiwan dollar experienced some profit taking selling which capped its strength and helped the U.S. dollar recover part of its earlier losses, dealers said.

The profit taking selling in the Taiwan dollar reflected the decline in other regional currencies, such as the South Korea won and the Singapore dollar, dealers said, adding it was technical in nature and the downtrend for the U.S. dollar remains unchanged.

Dealers said that as the regional economy is expected to continue to improve, foreign investors are likely to capitalize on the trend by moving funds into the region, which will boost regional currencies.

(By Chiu Po-sheng and Frances Huang)
(By Frances Huang)
Enditem/AW