Asian monies down on Jakarta bomb<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Singapore<\/p>\n
The Indonesian rupiah fell on Tuesday after a bomb blast in
\nthe capital claimed several lives and revived security concerns
\nin the region.<\/p>\n
Fears that the attack was linked to terrorist groups, some of
\nwhich have a regional presence, weighed on other Asian currencies
\nas well, especially those of Thailand and neighboring Singapore.<\/p>\n
Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted at Rp 8,625, up from Rp
\n8,490 on Monday.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar briefly fell to a three-month low after
\nreports of the explosion filtered through the markets. The U.S.
\ndollar was quoted at S$1.7640 late in the session, up from
\nS$1.7587 late on Monday.<\/p>\n
Against the Thai baht, the dollar was at 42.07 late in Asia,
\nup from 41.93 baht in the previous session.<\/p>\n
A powerful bomb blast outside the Marriott Hotel in central
\nJakarta killed at least 10 people and wounded another 103,
\nincluding several foreigners, Indonesian authorities said.
\nJakarta Governor Sutiyoso said the blast was "very likely"
\ncarried out by a suicide bomber.<\/p>\n
Philip Wee, a markets strategist at Singapore's DBS Bank, said
\nglobal asset markets are groping for direction as investors
\nreassess their views about the robustness of the U.S. economic
\nrecovery.<\/p>\n
With liquidity thinning out during the typical summer
\nslowdown, "caution is creeping in. Generally everyone is looking
\nfor an excuse to take profits or pare down risk," he said.<\/p>\n
Incidents like the Jakarta explosion will result in a knee
\njerk reaction, but eventually, economic fundamentals will be the
\nkey factor that provides direction for the markets, Wee said.<\/p>\n
"We are still quite optimistic about Indonesia," he added.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso resumed its fall after a short-lived
\nrespite in the previous session due to mounting security
\nconcerns, traders said.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 54.815 pesos on the Philippine Dealing
\nSystem, up from 54.800 pesos on Monday.<\/p>\n
Traders said the local currency market is still wary of
\nfurther security threats following the July 27 rebellion by
\njunior military officers and soldiers.<\/p>\n
"There's still no sense of normalcy on the domestic front,"
\nsaid a trader with a local bank, noting that persistent rumors of
\nanother grab for power have been preventing any recovery in the
\npeso.<\/p>\n
Those domestic concerns were exacerbated by the bomb blast in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
"There's a knee-jerk reaction to the Jakarta blast, but some
\ndollar inflows capped the U.S. unit's rise toward the close,"
\nsaid a trader with another bank.<\/p>\n
A Manila radio report said that immediately after the Jakarta
\nblast, the Philippine presidential office issued a statement
\nalerting the public, the police and the military to possible
\nterror attacks, especially from members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a
\nSoutheast Asian group that the U.S. says has links to the al-
\nQaida terrorist network.<\/p>\n
The South Korean won closed at its weakest level in five weeks
\nas banks bought dollars to cover short positions, traders said.
\nSome suspect the government also intervened in the market during
\nthe session.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 1,187.9 won, up from 1,181.1 won on
\nMonday, marking its highest close since July 1.<\/p>\n
"We first expected the dollar-won to trade between 1,180-1,183
\nwon," said Koo Sang-Jun, a dealer at KorAm Bank. "It seems that
\nthe government stepped in around 1,182 won, pushing the pair
\nhigher to 1,184 won."<\/p>\n
The New Taiwan dollar weakened on foreign equity outflows and
\nshort covering on the U.S. currency by interbank traders, dealers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar closed at NT$34.466, up from NT$34.430 on
\nMonday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-monies-down-on-jakarta-bomb-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}