Asian currencies mixed late, S'pore dollar extends rebound<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Asian currencies were mixed late
\nWednesday, with the market on tenterhooks ahead of Federal
\nReserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan's Congressional testimony
\nlater in the global day, dealers said.<\/p>\n
Market participants are seeking clues on the U.S. economic and
\npolicy outlook.<\/p>\n
With few signs of an imminent economic recovery in the U.S. so
\nfar, the outlook for Asian economies remain grim, and regional
\ncurrencies are expected to stay depressed in coming weeks,
\nanalysts said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian rupiah closed higher Wednesday as the market took
\nheart from talk of a political compromise between embattled
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid and his political opponents.<\/p>\n
Wahid appeared to back down from threats to impose a state of
\nemergency and dissolve Parliament.<\/p>\n
State bank dollar selling also helped push the U.S. currency
\nto end at Rp 11,285, down from Rp 11,337 Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Still, the rupiah's strength Wednesday was limited as
\npolitical tensions remain high ahead of the scheduled impeachment
\nnext month.<\/p>\n
The dollar is expected to trade in a Rp 11,250 to Rp 11,300
\nrange Thursday.<\/p>\n
Fears of testing the regional central banks' resolve had also
\ntamed dollar bulls, dealers said. Dealers believed most of the
\nregion's monetary authorities had intervened in their respective
\nforeign exchange markets earlier this week, as their currencies
\nlanguished at multi-month, if not multi-year lows.<\/p>\n
Indeed, suspected intervention by the local monetary authority
\ncontributed to the Singapore dollar's gains, extending Tuesday's
\nrebound.<\/p>\n
Speculation that the Monetary Authority of Singapore was
\nconsistently selling the U.S. currency all day through a European
\nbank prompted participants to trim their long U.S. dollar
\npositions, dealers said. A local bank was also rumored to be
\nselling U.S. dollars on behalf of the MAS earlier in the day,
\ndealers said.<\/p>\n
At 0855 GMT (5:55 p.m. Jakarta time), the U.S. dollar was
\nquoted at S$1.8317, below S$1.8341 late Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The Philippine central bank was also believed to have staved
\noff the pressure on the local currency, helping it regain its
\nfooting after having earlier in the day weakened past the 54-peso
\nmark to the dollar, dealers said.<\/p>\n
In what may be the most aggressive intervention this year,
\ndealers estimated the central bank sold up to $80 million
\nWednesday to pull the dollar below the key 54 pesos level.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 53.700 pesos on the Philippine Dealing
\nSystem, down from 53.950 pesos Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Similarly, the New Taiwan dollar recouped its earlier losses
\nas the central bank sold an estimated US$100 million at the last
\nminute to shore up the local currency, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar ended at NT$35.027, slightly lower than
\nTuesday's close of NT$35.047. Trading volume totaled US$597
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
Foreign equity fund outflows also dented the South Korean won,
\nalthough expectations of further foreign direct investment
\ninflows kept a rein on the currency's decline, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The dollar finished at 1,311.7 won, marginally higher than
\n+Tuesday's close of 1,311.2 won.<\/p>\n
Weighed by the peso's earlier decline, the Thai currency was
\nslightly weaker at 45.785 baht per dollar, compared with 45.755
\nbaht late Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Thai central bank Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula said
\nWednesday he is monitoring the baht's movements to ensure that
\nthere's no excess volatility, although he added that the
\ncurrency's movements aren't considered \"too volatile\" at the
\nmoment.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-currencies-mixed-late-spore-dollar-extends-rebound-1447893297",
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