Asian currencies fail to sustain gains amid shaky fundamentals<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Asian currencies were mixed late
\nTuesday, as the dollar's pullback against the major currencies
\nprovided some repose for the market, dealers said.<\/p>\n
Asian currencies were, however, unable to sustain their gains
\nas the region's shaky fundamentals kept investors wary, dealers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian rupiah ended unchanged in Asian trade Tuesday
\nin very sluggish trade. But investors still prefer to hold
\ndollars while political instability concerns remain, traders
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at Rp 9,450 in Asia, unchanged from Monday,
\nafter trading in a narrow Rp 9,435 to Rp 9,455 range.<\/p>\n
Investors are waiting to see whether political opposition to
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid will ratchet up pressure for his
\nresignation in coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Wahid, also called Gus Dur is facing attack for his alleged
\ninvolvement in a number of financial scandals, and his threats
\nlast week to cut off the water supply to Singapore have given
\nopposition more ammunition.<\/p>\n
Any negative developments for Wahid, who's been in power for
\none year, could push the dollar through key resistance at Rp
\n9,500.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar and the South Korean won were slightly
\nstronger, but off their intraday highs.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso and the New Taiwan dollar were lower while
\nthe Indonesian rupiah was steady.<\/p>\n
The Thai central bank's latest move to clamp down on
\nspeculative trading in the baht smothered interest in the
\ncurrency, keeping it wedged within a tight trading band as most
\ninterbank players withdrew to the sidelines, dealers said.<\/p>\n
But the move to restrict offshore speculative investors'
\naccess to onshore liquidity failed to spark a reversal in the
\nbaht's fortunes - the baht was slightly weaker late Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Around 0830 GMT, the dollar was at 43.690 baht, up from 43.585
\nbaht late Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso relinquished its earlier gains on renewed
\nconcerns over the possibility of prolonged political quagmire in
\nthe Philippines, after President Joseph Estrada's attempt Tuesday
\nto dismiss the impeachment charges against him, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The Philippine Senate heard arguments by Estrada's lawyers the
\nimpeachment charges accusing him of corruption should be
\ndismissed on technical grounds.<\/p>\n
But minutes after the close of trading, the Senate rejected
\nthe motion to quash the impeachment case for lack of merit.
\nThe dollar closed at 49.520 pesos on the Philippine Dealing
\nSystem, up from 49.410 pesos at the previous close.<\/p>\n
Slower remittances from overseas workers and increased
\ncorporate demand for dollars also pressured the peso, dealers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Against the Singapore dollar, which tracked the other
\ncurrencies, the U.S. unit slid to as low as S$1.7515 in early
\ntrading, before slowly recovering to S$1.7545 late in the day.<\/p>\n
Late Monday, the U.S. dollar was higher at S$1.7558, following
\nthe yen which lost some ground.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, dollar-selling by local exporters and foreign
\nequity investors contributed to the South Korean won's gains,
\ndealers said.<\/p>\n
The dollar finished at 1,184.70 won, down from Monday's close
\nof 1,186.50 won.<\/p>\n
In contrast, corporate month-end demand for the U.S. currency,
\nas well as lingering worries over a slowing economy and domestic
\npolitical bickering dented the New Taiwan dollar, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar closed at NT$32.928, up from NT$32.878 Monday.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-currencies-fail-to-sustain-gains-amid-shaky-fundamentals-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }