TWD 17 Nov

16:44 17Nov2008 RTRS-Taiwan dollar falls in thin trade on economic fears

(Updates to close)
TAIPEI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The Taiwan dollar fell on Monday in extremely thin trade as worries over the island's economy pushed financial markets lower after a G20 summit failed to provide specific steps to prevent further economic slowing.
The Taiwan dollar closed at T$33.170 against the U.S. dollar, down from Friday's close of T$33.079.
Volume on the main Taipei Forex Inc exchange was paltry at $487 million, sharply lower than $725 million in Friday's session.
"There were only a few trades today, probably because it's near the end of the year and investors don't want to build up new positions," said a dealer at a local bank.
"The Taiwan dollar was pressured by the weak performance in the stock market and a falling South Korean won. Foreign banks bought and sold small amounts of the Taiwan dollar."
Taiwan stocks <.TWII> closed 0.29 percent lower on Monday on economic worries as the weekend meeting of the Group of 20 major economies produced a slew of broad agreements but no new concrete measures. [nN16483348]
The Taiwan dollar was further weighed by the South Korean won , which fell against the U.S. dollar on Monday, extending its losing streak to a fifth session. [ID:nSEO300536]
However, dealers said exporters' deals supported the Taiwan dollar. Exporters prefer a weaker Taiwan dollar because they can exchange their U.S. dollar earnings into more of the local currency.
The central bank, which often intervenes to keep the Taiwan dollar from big swings, did not step in on Monday due to light volumes, dealers said. It prefers the local currency to trade gradually lower to maintain the island's export competitiveness.
The Taiwan dollar could test as low as T$33.5 this week, dealers said.
Since hitting a 10-1/2-year high in late March, the Taiwan dollar has lost 11 percent mainly due to deepening worries over the health of the export-led economy as fears mounted about the severity of the global slowdown.
On the smaller Cosmos exchange , the Taiwan dollar fell to T$33.169 to the U.S. dollar, from the previous close of T$33.075.
(Reporting by Gina Chang and Lin Miao-jung; Editing by Ken Wills)
((chyenyee.lee@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters Messaging: chyenyee.lee.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: MARKETS TAIWAN CURRENCY/

For Related News, Double Click on one of these codes:
[M] [T] [Z] [MF] [RNP] [DNP] [PTD] [PMF] [TW] [ASIA] [FRX] [EMRG] [LEN] [RTRS] [TWD/] [TWD=TP]

For Relevant Price Information, Double Click on one of these codes:

Monday, 17 November 2008 16:44:13RTRS [nTP1879] {EN}ENDS