Asian Currencies down, dollar recovers after recent slide<\/p>\n
Dow Jones
\nSingapore<\/p>\n
Most Asian currencies weakened on Thursday in holiday-thinned
\ntrading as the dollar took a breather from its recent slide in
\nthe region.<\/p>\n
The Thai baht, Indonesian rupiah and Philippine peso all edged
\nlower against the dollar in cautious trading on the second
\nanniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar was little changed, and the South Korean
\nwon and New Taiwan dollar weren't traded because financial
\nmarkets in Seoul and Taipei were closed for public holidays.<\/p>\n
The dollar bounced back against the baht after hitting a 14-
\nmonth low against the Thai currency a day earlier.<\/p>\n
Traders said demand for the U.S. currency came from banks
\nstocking up on dollars as they prepared to establish loan
\nfacilities with Thai state-owned enterprises seeking dollars for
\nforeign debt repayment.<\/p>\n
Offshore players also bought dollars to cover their short
\npositions in the U.S. currency.<\/p>\n
Late in Asian trading the dollar was quoted at 40.445 baht,
\noff its morning high of 40.520 baht, but still up from 40.375
\nbaht late on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The strength of the baht, which is up 6.5 percent against the
\ndollar so far this year, has prompted Thai officials to intervene
\nto slow the baht's rise, and crack down on speculative trading of
\nthe currency.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, central bank Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula has
\nindicated he is comfortable with the baht's appreciation because
\nit has been broadly in line with other regional currencies.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar continued to hold its ground following
\nthe confirmation earlier this week of the first case of SARS in
\nthe city-state in four months.<\/p>\n
Near the end of Asian trading the U.S. dollar was quoted at
\nS$1.7481 compared with S$1.7482 late in Asia on Wednesday. The
\nU.S. dollar traded between S$1.7473 and S$1.7516 intraday.<\/p>\n
But trade in the local currency market was very thin, and the
\nU.S. dollar spent much of the session hovering around S$1.7490.
\nMarket participants were cautious due to the possibility of
\nterrorist strikes to coincide with the second anniversary of the
\nSept. 11 attacks.<\/p>\n
The peso relinquished its early gains to finish lower against
\nthe dollar.<\/p>\n
The Philippine currency initially strengthened on suspected
\ncentral bank intervention, but dollar buyers emerged after the
\nU.S. currency fell as low as 54.890 peso.<\/p>\n
Market players remain generally bearish toward the peso due
\nmostly to concerns about the political and security stability in
\nthe Philippines.<\/p>\n
The dollar buying continued throughout the session, pushing it
\nto 55.030 peso at the close, up from 54.950 peso late on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
The rupiah weakened as players covered short dollar positions
\nafter the U.S. currency's rise in the region.<\/p>\n
Late in Asia the dollar was quoted at Rp 8,465, up from Rp
\n8,430 late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
With little in the way of fresh news to trade on, market
\nplayers looked at the movement of other regional currencies for
\nguidance.<\/p>",
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