Taiwan does not manipulate exchange rates: Premier

Taipei, May 6 (CNA) Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) reiterated on Tuesday that Taiwan's government is not engaged in currency manipulation amid speculation that the sudden appreciation of the local currency was related to pressure from the United States.

Speaking prior to a legislative hearing, Cho said Taiwan's currency has always been stable, that it was not a country that engaged in currency manipulation, and that the central bank has always abided by the law in observing changes in exchange rates.

Asked about central bank Governor Yang Chin-long's (楊金龍) recent comment that there were signs of speculators seeking to disrupt Taiwan's currency, Cho said such illegal market behavior would not be tolerated.

He said that he has asked the central bank and financial institutions to impose strict checks on such behavior.

The Taiwan dollar rose sharply on May 2 and 5, appreciating by NT$1.872 from NT$32.017 to the U.S. dollar at the close of trading on April 30 to NT$30.145 to the U.S. dollar on May 5.

The local currency had roughly hovered between NT$32.5 and NT$33 from the beginning of the year to late April before its sudden surge.

The sharp gains, combined with the U.S. dollar lagging behind most other major currencies over the two days, led some to speculate that Asian countries, including Taiwan, were trading higher exchange rates for lower tariffs in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats.

Taiwanese officials have been at pains to repeat that the Taiwan dollar's sudden appreciation had nothing to do with U.S. pressure, but the government has done little either rhetorically or in practice to call out Trump's coercion on tariffs and trade.

Cho did express the hope that market mechanisms will stabilize exchange rates, and that seemed to be happening in trading Tuesday.

The U.S. dollar was trading at around NT$30.13 at noon Tuesday after falling below the NT$30 threshold earlier in the morning.

Taiwan has been listed by the United States as a currency manipulator, in 1988 and 1992, and it was included on the U.S. Treasury's currency "Monitoring List" for a sixth straight time in its November 2024 report.

The designation identifies major U.S. trading partners "whose currency practices and macroeconomic policies merit close attention."