USD/TWD Uptrend Channel Steepens, Eyes 31,000 Target

        0147 GMT [Dow Jones] The slope of USD/TWD's ascent within the Bollinger uptrend channel has steepened following a sharp rally Wednesday, partly fuelled by the central bank. USD/TWD is closing in on the round-figure trading barrier at 31.000 fast. A break of this psychological barrier could trigger short-covering that would boost the greenback sharply. The central bank was suspected of buying U.S. dollars at 30.810 Wednesday, whereas they were sighted at 30.715 on Tuesday. The central bank may be trying to weaken the Taiwan dollar to help exporters as currencies of regional export rivals fall significantly. The price of the one-month USD/TWD nondeliverable forward contract in the offshore market is now above that of the spot contract, suggesting that speculative demand for the dollar has increased. USD/TWD is now 30.915 from its Wednesday close of 30.908. (ewen.chew@wsj.com)

        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        November 19, 2014 20:47 ET (01:47 GMT)