1/23 TWD

17:05 23Feb09 RTRS-Taiwan dollar rebounds from near 6-year low (Adds close, quotes) TAIPEI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The Taiwan dollar ended sharply higher on Monday, off a near six-year intraday low as financial institutions adjusted their positions after recent falls in the local currency and on exporters' deals. The Taiwan dollar rose to a high of T$34.6 against the U.S. dollar minutes before closing at T$34.628, its strongest finish since Feb. 17. Dealers said there was some light U.S. dollar-buying intervention by the central bank just before the market closed. On Friday, the currency ended at T$34.8, its weakest close in nearly six years, which had been its 12th straight session of falls. "Some foreign investors and banks took profits after the Taiwan dollar's recent decline," said a dealer in Taipei. The Taiwan dollar has lost about 5 percent of its value since the beginning of the year as worries over the island's economic health weighed on the local currency. But dealers said the local currency would still be on a downward trend, likely weakening to T$35 in coming weeks. The day's gain was further boosted by exporters' purchases of the Taiwan dollar. Exporters prefer a weaker Taiwan dollar as they can exchange their U.S. dollar earnings to more of the local currency. Importers, however, were not particularly active during the session even after the central bank on Monday urged importers to hedge their foreign exchange positions. [ID:nTP316898] Volume on the main Taipei Forex Inc exchange was moderate at $1.027 billion, sharply higher than Friday's $680 million. In the non-deliverable forwards market, six-month NDFs were quoted at -0.100/-0.050, wider than -0.050/-0.010 in the previous session, meaning investors bet the Taiwan dollar will strengthen more than earlier expectations in half a year. On the smaller Cosmos exchange , the Taiwan dollar rose to T$34.600 compared to Friday's close of T$34.800. (Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee and Gina Chang; Editing by Nick Macfie) ((gina.chang@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters Messaging:gina.chang.thomsonreuters.come@reuters.com)) Keywords: MARKETS TAIWAN CURRENCY/
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