August 21, 2015

On 18 August, the New Taiwan Dollar fell to a six-year low, closing the day at 32.5 TWD per USD. The figure represented a 4.3% depreciation over the same day of the previous month and an 8.2% depreciation over the same day of last year. The currency’s decline in value comes against a backdrop of weak economic data emerging from the country. On 14 August, more complete data released by the the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) confirmed that the economy slowed sharply to a three-year low in the second quarter of 2015. In addition, the depreciation comes against a backdrop of declines in other Asian currencies following China’s surprise devaluation of the yuan, although the TWD’s depreciation has been more moderate than its peers.

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panellists expect the TWD to end this year at 32.1 per USD. For 2016, the panel projects the TWD to trade at 32.5 per USD.