TAIPEI, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Taiwan's central bank has eased restrictions on U.S. dollar sales by exporters to rein in this week's depreciation of the Taiwan dollar, three forex traders told Reuters on Friday.
The Taiwan dollar has weakened against the U.S. dollar recently due to capital outflows by foreign investors selling Taiwan stocks, at one point hitting its lowest in more than seven months.
The forex traders said that the central bank on Thursday had called some large banks and told them that the existing cap had been lifted, allowing any single large exporter to sell more than 10 "tranches" of foreign exchange in a single day.
One tranche is equivalent to $1 million.
"Since the central bank says it's fine to sell more than 10 tranches, the exchange rate should be able to consolidate," one trader said.
The traders spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The Taiwan dollar was last slightly weaker by mid-afternoon Friday at 31.52 per U.S. dollar
The central bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan's central bank has a mandate for the currency's stability, and generally does intervene as needed to ensure its movements either way are not excessive.
Reporting by Jeanny Kao; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jacqueline Wong
Source: Reuters