Taiwan’s dollar advanced as oil prices retreated for a second day, easing concern high fuel costs will derail the global economic recovery. Crude for April delivery slipped 0.1 percent to $104.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries considered talks to step up production. The government’s 10-year bonds gained as inflation concerns receded. “A decline in oil has helped the currency,” said Ivy Leung, a Taipei-based bond trader at Polaris Securities Co. “But investors’ concern about inflation caused by higher oil prices will continue to weigh on” bonds, she added. Taiwan’s dollar closed 0.1 percent stronger at NT$29.395 against the greenback, according to Taipei Forex Inc. It earlier touched 29.31, matching the strongest level since Feb. 18. The cost of crude in New York has risen 15 percent this year as an uprising in Libya, Africa’s third-largest oil producer, disrupted supplies. Taiwan’s consumer prices increased 1.33 percent from a year earlier in February, the biggest gain in three months, according to data released this week. The yield on Taiwan’s 1.375 percent bond due March 2021 fell one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 1.42 percent, according to Gretai Securities Market. It reached 1.44 percent on March 1, the highest level for a benchmark 10-year note since Feb. 9. The government plans to auction NT$40 billion ($1.4 billion) of similar-maturity notes on March 14. To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Wong in Taipei at awong268@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net.

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