Asia currencies roused by dull U.S. dollar<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuters): Asian currencies leapt yesterday as the
\nU.S. dollar slid against the yen and stock markets across the
\nregion took their cue from Wall Street's second session of gains.<\/p>\n
The dollar was hovering around 131 yen in late Asian trade
\nagainst an overnight high of 132.95 yen, partly due to a rebound
\nin Tokyo stocks.<\/p>\n
Soothing comments about Asia's financial crisis by officials
\nfrom the United States and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
\nspurred players to reduce dollar holdings.<\/p>\n
Dealers said the gains were accelerated by stop-loss sales of
\nthe U.S. dollar in thin markets for some Asian currencies, but
\nfew were willing to bet on a turnaround in sentiment.<\/p>\n
\"The Dow did pretty well yesterday and that's leading the
\nAsian stock markets and adding to the speed of the recovery in
\nthe currencies,\" said a U.S. bank dealer in Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"But I'm still not too optimistic on Indonesia. Basically, I
\nsee this as a correction in the (U.S.) dollar.\"<\/p>\n
Dealers said they were still awaiting details of talks
\nbetween IMF officials and Indonesian leaders, due on Thursday, to
\ndecide on the rupiah's direction.<\/p>\n
IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus' comment that Indonesia
\nneeded to accelerate long overdue economic reforms and that the
\nfund expected a new letter of intent from Jakarta committing
\nitself to such reforms had little impact.<\/p>\n
The baht firmed to 53.00\/20 to the dollar onshore against
\n55.70\/55.90 late on Tuesday. Offshore, it was sharply higher at
\n50.55\/85 against 53.50\/54.00.<\/p>\n
\"There are lots of positive factors coming in to support the
\nbaht -- the calmer regional situation, the better-than-expected
\ncurrent account data and kind words from the United States,\" a
\nforeign bank dealer in Bangkok said.<\/p>\n
Thailand recorded a current account surplus of $2.5 billion
\nduring the last four months of 1997, paring its deficit for the
\nyear to $3.4 billion baht, or 2.1 percent of GDP.<\/p>\n
Central bank governor Chaiyawat Wibulswasdi said Thailand was
\nlikely to post current account surpluses in the coming months as
\nexports surged and imports dropped substantially due to sluggish
\nlocal demand.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian ringgit was sharply higher at 4.3050\/150 to the
\ndollar against 4.6050\/6350 late on Tuesday as U.S., European and
\nJapanese banks unwound their long dollar positions, triggering
\nstop-loss dollar sales.<\/p>\n
\"We may be in for a sharp retracement after recent
\novershooting,\" a European bank dealer in Singapore said.<\/p>\n
Dealers said the ringgit's moves were difficult to predict due
\nto a very thin market.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar was firm at 1.7470\/1.7520 to the U.S.
\ndollar, off its early highs, but well up from 1.7735 late on
\nTuesday as the stock market surged 7.50 percent to close at
\n1,243.27.<\/p>\n
Reassuring words about Singapore banks' bad loan exposure in
\nthe region also put a shine on the domestic dollar, but dealers
\nsaid it faced a strong barrier at 1.7250.<\/p>\n
Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told parliament there
\nwas no danger of a banking crisis in Singapore and he did not
\nexpect higher interest rates to hurt the economy significantly.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso continued its rally as the improved
\nperformance of neighboring currencies gave an added boost to the
\ncentral bank's recent indirect interventions in the swap market.<\/p>\n
The peso was at 42.00\/43.00 to the dollar against Tuesday's
\n43.62 close.<\/p>\n
The South Korean won firmed to 1,660 to the dollar from
\nTuesday's 1,682 close, buoyed by foreign inflows to the stock
\nmarket and news that Korea's two main labor groups had agreed to
\njoin a committee to discuss industrial restructuring.<\/p>\n
The Taiwan dollar also fell off its highs as the yen lost some
\nground, but it remained firm at T$34.093\/100 to the U.S. dollar
\nfrom a previous T$34.365 close.<\/p>\n
The Hong Kong dollar recovered from its early weakness and
\ninterest rates eased as the blue chip Hang Seng Index headed
\nfurther north.<\/p>\n
Even the Australian and New Zealand dollars perked up as
\nspirits rose across much of Asia.<\/p>\n
Only the Indian rupee bucked the trend, finally falling
\nthrough the psychological 40.00 level to the dollar, prompting
\nintervention by the central bank in spot and swap markets.<\/p>\n
The following table shows the drop in value of Asian
\ncurrencies since the crisis began in July. Currency movements are
\nin percentage terms and reflect the local unit's fall against the
\ndollar, not the dollar's rise.<\/p>\n
Currency Current value Move since July 1.<\/p>\n
-------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Indonesian rupiah 7,000.00 -65.26%<\/p>\n
Thai baht 53.00 -51.13%<\/p>\n
Korean won 1,660.00 -46.51%<\/p>\n
Malaysian ringgit 4.32 -41.67%<\/p>\n
Philippine peso 42.00 -36.90%<\/p>\n
Taiwan dollar 34.09 -18.60%<\/p>\n
Singapore dollar 1.75 -18.24%<\/p>\n
Hong Kong dollar 7.74 -0.03%<\/p>\n
Indian rupee 40.17 -10.83%<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asia-currencies-roused-by-dull-us-dollar-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }