Asian currencies mixed in late trade, rupiah retreats<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Asian currencies turned in a mixed
\nperformance Friday, splitting generally along a north-south
\ndivide.<\/p>\n
To the north, the South Korean won and New Taiwan dollar had
\nanother rough session, both falling to close to two-year lows as
\na result of slumping stock prices and ongoing concerns about
\nslower economic growth.<\/p>\n
In Southeast Asia the Singapore dollar, Thai baht and
\nPhilippine peso all strengthened modestly, while the Indonesian
\nrupiah edged lower.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian rupiah closed lower against the U.S. dollar
\nafter some local banks snapped up the dollar amid thin trading
\nvolume.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at Rp 9,365 in Asia, up from Rp 9,270 late
\nThursday. The U.S. unit touched an intraday high of Rp 9,380
\nduring the day.<\/p>\n
Dealers said two local banks, namely Bank Bali (P.BBL) and
\nBank Central Asia (P.PCA), actively bought the dollar and pushed
\nthe U.S. currency higher.<\/p>\n
"Those two banks were scrambling to buy the dollar as today
\nwas the last chance for buying the dollar," said a dealer with a
\nforeign bank.<\/p>\n
The north-south split that has emerged recently represents a
\nturnaround from earlier in the year when the North Asian
\ncurrencies dominated regional foreign exchange markets. The won
\nand the New Taiwan dollar had surged to post-crisis highs this
\nspring after market players concluded that those economies were
\nbest positioned to take advantage of the global Internet boom.<\/p>\n
But as U.S. economic growth has slowed - curbing the country's
\nhearty appetite for computer chips and other electronic equipment
\n- South Korea and Taiwan's technology-rich markets have faltered.<\/p>\n
And the resulting slowdown in foreign capital inflows has
\ntaken its toll on the local currencies.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 1,237 won, up from 1,227.90 won at the
\nprevious close and its strongest performance in more than 21
\nmonths. The won has lost 2.5 percent of its value this week and 8
\npercent since the start of the year.<\/p>\n
Against the New Taiwan dollar, the U.S. currency closed at a
\n22-month high of NT$33.180, up from NT$33.172 Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar continued its rally, hitting a 15-week
\nhigh against the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
Market participants liquidated long U.S. dollar positions
\nagainst the Singapore currency in response to recent U.S. dollar
\nslippage against the euro, Australian dollar and New Zealand
\ndollar, said Peter Redward, currency strategist at Deutsche Bank
\nin Singapore.<\/p>\n
"People are unwinding their long dollar positions and the
\nSingapore currency is seen as a safe haven because of the strong
\neconomic fundamentals and large current account surplus," Redward
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Late in Asian trading the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7275,
\ndown from S$1.7295 late Thursday. Dealers said the market was
\nreluctant to push the U.S. dollar much lower following suspected
\nintervention by the Monetary Authority of Singapore Thursday to
\ncap the Singapore dollar's appreciation at the S$1.7270 level.<\/p>\n
The Thai baht continued to gain ground on the U.S. dollar,
\nbuoyed by falling oil prices, a more stable stock market and in
\nanticipation of a narrowing interest rate differential between
\nThailand and the U.S.<\/p>\n
Late in Asia the dollar was quoted at 41.195 baht, down from
\n42.365 baht late Thursday. It was the baht's best performance
\nagainst the dollar since Oct. 2.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso was supported by what may be the last
\ntranche of remittance inflows from overseas workers in the run-up
\nto Christmas, traders said.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at its intraday low of 49.900 pesos on the
\nPhilippine Dealing System, down from 50.045 pesos Thursday. The
\ndollar hit an intraday high of 50.105 pesos and averaged 50.024
\npesos.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-currencies-mixed-in-late-trade-rupiah-retreats-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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