Asian currencies end lower, despite late surge in yen<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (Dow Jones): The late surge in the Japanese yen
\nhelped lift some Asian foreign exchange markets off their
\nintraday lows Tuesday, but regional currencies still ended local
\ntrading hours down across the board.<\/p>\n
In Southeast Asia the Thai baht sank to a new 12-month low in
\nearly dealing, after second quarter GDP figures released late
\nMonday disappointed investors.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso also closed lower, shadowing the baht,
\nwhile poor market sentiment continued to weigh on the Indonesian
\nrupiah. The Singapore dollar softened in line with the general
\nregional trend.<\/p>\n
In North Asia the won closed lower, weakened in part by
\nexpectations of early debt repayments by Korean banks.
\nThe New Taiwan dollar went untraded after an earthquake forced
\nthe closure of financial markets in Taipei.<\/p>\n
The disclosure late Monday that the Thai economy expanded by
\n3.5 percent in the second quarter over the same period the
\nprevious year forced the baht sharply lower in overnight trading
\nin Europe and New York.<\/p>\n
The dollar buying continued into early trading in Asia
\nTuesday, pushing the U.S. currency to an intraday high of 40.2700
\nbaht, its highest level since late September last year.<\/p>\n
By the end of Asian trading, the baht had clawed back some of
\nits earlier losses, as the U.S. dollar softened to 40.1550 baht.<\/p>\n
At that level, however, the U.S. currency was still
\nsignificantly stronger than 39.9850 baht late in Asia the
\nprevious day.<\/p>\n
According to Stephen Jen, foreign exchange strategist at
\nMorgan Stanley Dean Witter in Hong Kong, the baht is likely to
\nremain relatively soft over the medium term, even though
\nThailand's broad economic outlook is favorable.<\/p>\n
Trading in the rupiah followed a similar pattern Tuesday, with
\nthe U.S. currency appreciating to a high of Rp 8,400, before
\neasing again to finish local interbank trading at Rp 8,360. Late
\nMonday the dollar had been quoted at Rp 8,300.<\/p>\n
Analysts and traders alike remained deeply cautious over the
\nrupiah's prospects for recovery, citing a broad range of
\nconcerns.<\/p>\n
\"East Timor may be a mature factor now, as far as the rupiah's
\nexchange rate is concerned, but the Bank Bali scandal is
\ncertainly an ongoing influence,\" said David Simmonds, foreign
\nexchange strategist at Citibank in Singapore.<\/p>\n
The suspension of multilateral lending to Indonesia pending a
\nsatisfactory clarification of the scandal and the still evolving
\npolitical process in Jakarta will also continue to weigh on the
\nrupiah for the foreseeable future, warned Simmonds, making a
\nrebound to the 18-month highs seen in July improbable in the near
\nterm.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar also ended lower Tuesday, slipping in
\nparallel with the regional trend. Late in local trading, the U.S.
\ncurrency was quoted at S$1.7002, up from S$1.6957 the day before.<\/p>\n
Healthy bidding interest at S$1.6990 is likely to support the
\nU.S. dollar above that level in the near term, said a trader at a
\nSingapore bank, who expected the U.S. currency to extend its
\ngains.<\/p>\n
Against the Philippine peso, the U.S. dollar ended at 40.150
\npesos, up from 40.140 pesos the day before.<\/p>\n
The Korean won, too, closed down as dealers bought U.S.
\ndollars in anticipation of early repayments of foreign currency-
\ndenominated debts by Korean banks.<\/p>\n
At the Seoul close, the dollar was at 1,204.50 won, up from
\nMonday's closing level of 1,200.70 won.<\/p>",
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