Asia monies mostly weaker as rupiah sours sentiment<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (Dow Jones): Sour sentiment around the Indonesian
\nrupiah continued to unsettle currencies throughout the region
\nThursday, although investors took a break from selling the rupiah
\nin afternoon trade.<\/p>\n
Along with the rupiah, the Philippine peso, Thai baht and
\nSingapore dollar fell in the session as the markets continued to
\nexpress disappointment with Indonesian President Abdurrahman
\nWahid's appointments to the new governing cabinet late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The South Korean won ended slightly higher, while the New
\nTaiwan dollar was little changed.<\/p>\n
Dealers now await further comments from Indonesian Vice
\nPresident Megawati Sukarnoputri to judge her mood and willingness
\nto cooperate with Wahid's government after his cabinet
\nappointments largely sidelined her own Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle, or PDI-P.<\/p>\n
She has already indicated that she won't break a recent deal
\nwith the president on sharing power.<\/p>\n
However, analysts warned of dire consequences if the markets
\nget an inkling of a deeper dissatisfaction from her that could
\nhinder efforts to work with the ruling party toward solving
\nIndonesia's economic problems.<\/p>\n
Unless there's some indication that government policy will
\nchange constructively \"investors aren't going to bite,\" said
\nRebecca Patterson, a JP Morgan currency strategist.<\/p>\n
She said her firm still maintains an aggressive target for the
\nU.S. dollar nearing Rp 10,000, without significant political and
\neconomic improvement.<\/p>\n
The U.S. unit was trading at Rp 8,400 late Thursday, up from
\nRp 8,380 at the close of Asian trading Wednesday and after the
\ncabinet appointments were announced. Traders said for now the
\ndollar looks range-bound between Rp 8,250 and just over Rp 8,500.<\/p>\n
Short covering and rumors about Megawati's intentions\" pushed
\nthe U.S. dollar to Rp 8,540 in morning trade, said a dealer with
\na U.S. bank. The dealer noted many traders had worried earlier
\nwhether the vice president might resign in protest over the
\ncabinet postings. When those rumors proved false the pair dipped
\nback below Rp 8,500.<\/p>\n
He said the level remains key, however, and a close above it
\nin the next session could open up a quick move to Rp 8,900.<\/p>\n
The rupiah's problems began in earnest late Wednesday as
\nmarkets became upset with everything from the appointment of
\nPrijadi Praptosuhardjo as the new Indonesian finance minister,
\nand Rizal Ramli as chief economics minister, to an apparently
\nmocking quip from Wahid to explain Megawati's absence from the
\ncabinet announcement. He said she was taking a bath.<\/p>\n
And that continued to spell trouble for the baht, peso, and
\nSingapore dollar.<\/p>\n
The dollar was at 40.93 baht, up from 40.650 baht late
\nWednesday, entirely in sympathy with the action in the Indonesian
\ncurrency, dealers said.<\/p>\n
In the Philippines, the peso traded at 44.96 to the U.S.
\ndollar, up from Wednesday close of 44.915 pesos. Dealers reported
\ncautious trade amid an ongoing central bank investigation of
\nseveral banks suspected of violating foreign exchange trading
\nrules.<\/p>\n
In Singapore, the U.S. unit traded up to S$1.7203, from
\nS$1.7140 late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
In North Asia, the South Korean won ended Asian trade at
\n1,113.60, from 1,114.60 won.<\/p>\n
In Taiwan, the U.S. dollar is quoted at NT$31.064, down from
\nNT$31.07.<\/p>\n
Patterson said as the rupiah's troubles pull down neighboring
\ncurrencies in Southeast Asia, that could cause a resumption of a
\ndivergence between them and the currencies of Northeast Asia as
\nthose are pulled up by the recent renewed strength of the yen.<\/p>\n
Late in the day the U.S. dollar was trading at about Y107.06,
\nup slightly from Y107.03 late Wednesday in New York.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asia-monies-mostly-weaker-as-rupiah-sours-sentiment-1447893297",
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