Trade inflows in Asia fuel debate over currency intervention

IT MIGHT SEEM cause for celebration. Taiwan was already a standout economic performer in a pandemic-plagued world, and its good run, fuelled by , is continuing. Orders for its exports rose by an eye-watering 49% in the first two months of 2021 compared with a year earlier, according to data released on March 22nd. There is just one snag: export strength has become awkward for officials in Taipei, for it attracts unwanted attention. America’s Treasury has already placed Taiwan on its “monitoring list” for countries that manipulate their exchange rates and the boom only adds to the harsh glare.If it is any solace to Taiwan, it is far from alone in drawing such scrutiny. Across Asia foreign-exchange reserves—a good proxy for currency intervention—have jumped. Excluding China (where the data are trickier to interpret), reserves in the next ten largest Asian economies increased by about $410bn last year, the biggest annual jump on record, according to calculations by .