Taiwan dollar rose 4.27% against U.S. dollar in 2025, highest in 5 years

Taipei, Dec. 31 (CNA) The New Taiwan dollar (NTD) rose over 4 percent against the U.S. dollar in 2025, marking its largest gains against the greenback in the past five years.

On Wednesday, the last trading session of 2025, the U.S. dollar rose NT$0.01 to close at NT$31.438 against the Taiwan dollar.

For the year, the U.S. dollar fell by NT$1.343, or 4.27 percent, from the end of 2024, when it hit a 9-year-high of NT$32.781 against the Taiwan dollar.

After starting off 2025 at around NT$32, the Taiwan dollar was impacted by concerns around U.S. tariffs, followed in May by period of irrational expectations of currency appreciation.

On May 2 and May 5, the Taiwan dollar surged against the greenback by over NT$1 on back-to-back trading days, approaching a high of NT$29 and prompting the central bank to take steps to curb speculation caused by hot money.

During the second half of the year, even as Taiwan shares hit record highs, capital outflows from foreign institutional investors selling Taiwan stocks caused the Taiwan dollar to weaken, falling from NT$29 to around NT$31.5.

In total, the Taiwan dollar moved between a high of NT$29 and a low of NT$33 against the U.S. dollar in 2025, showing significant volatility.

The currency's 4.27 percent rise in 2025 compared with a rise of 4.38 percent for China's renminbi, a 1.80 percent rise for the South Korean won, and a 0.22 percent drop for the Japanese yen.

Looking ahead to 2026, Cathay United Bank chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said he expected the Taiwan dollar to continue to rise with stops and starts, taking cues from U.S. Federal Reserve policy and a growing number of Taiwanese making investments abroad.