Sing$ up 0.6% against US dollar amid rally in Asia

Regional currencies advance on trade hopes, with Taiwan leading the charge

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Asian currencies rallied on May 5 on hopes of a thaw in the US-China trade war and regional tariff deals with the Trump administration.

Taiwan led the charge, with its currency surging as much as 5 per cent, the biggest intraday gain in over three decades, on speculation that exporters are rushing to convert their holdings of US dollars to the island's currency.

The Taiwan dollar has advanced more than 10 per cent over the past month.

Malaysia's ringgit advanced 1.3 per cent to its strongest since October 2024, while South Korea's won also strengthened by 1.3 per cent.

Singapore's currency was up 0.6 per cent to 1.292 per US dollar as at 5.02pm local time. This brought its advance to date in 2025 to 5.3 per cent. The last time the Singapore dollar closed above the 1.29 level was in September 2024.

The Japanese yen also rose 0.6 per cent against the US currency, while the Australian dollar was up 0.5 per cent.

Currencies have rallied across Asia in recent weeks as the US dollar faltered on concern that US President Donald Trump's tariff war will hurt the world's largest economy. The latest surge comes after Mr Trump suggested the US may strike trade deals with some countries as soon as this week. He also signalled that his aides are having conversations with counterparts from China.