Asian monies generally down but Korea won bucks trend<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Most Asian currencies were weaker late
\nWednesday as the sagging Indonesian rupiah continued to unsettle
\nits Southeast Asian counterparts.<\/p>\n
In contrast, the South Korean won outshined its regional peers
\nas dollar-selling by exporters propelled the currency to a four-
\nmonth high.<\/p>\n
After having been trapped in a range of 1,110 won to 1,120 won
\nover the past two months, the dollar finally collapsed below the
\n1,110 won psychological support level at the open.<\/p>\n
The dollar finished at 1,108.50 won, its lowest closing level
\nsince April 26, when it ended at 1,108.10 won. The U.S. currency
\nfinished Tuesday at 1,110.10 won. The dollar had earlier fallen
\nto as low as 1,108.10, its weakest performance since April 26,
\nwhen it touched 1,107.60 won.<\/p>\n
The wave of month-end dollar-selling by local exporters and
\ndollar-selling by offshore participants in the non-deliverable
\nforward market supported the won, but dollar buying by state
\nbanks kept a rein on the U.S. currency's slide, dealers said.<\/p>\n
After snapping out of its long-standing trading range, the won
\nis poised to make further gains, some analysts said.<\/p>\n
The dollar could descend further to 1,105 won \"over the next
\nweek or two\" and \"possibly even lower,\" before eventually testing
\nthe downside target of 1,100 won in the next few months, said
\nDavid Simmonds, a regional currency strategist at Salomon Smith
\nBarney\/Citibank.<\/p>\n
Southeast Asian currencies remained shaky as the Indonesian
\nrupiah extended Tuesday's decline on heightened concerns over
\nrelations between the country's new economic team and the
\nInternational Monetary Fund.<\/p>\n
The new senior economic minister, Rizal Ramli, known to be a
\ncritic of the IMF, said in a statement late Tuesday that he may
\nwant to change some details of the latest agreement with IMF that
\nwas signed by the previous cabinet last month. Rizal had asked
\nthe lending agency to delay its next disbursement of financial
\naid to give time for a review of the $5 billion program.<\/p>\n
Uncertainty about the nature or the extent of the planned
\nchanges to the agreement has made the market nervous, dealers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Rizal's comments had sent the rupiah reeling to as low as Rp
\n8,430 to the dollar in London trading hours Tuesday.<\/p>\n
But the rupiah was well-contained within a range of Rp 8,370
\nto Rp 8,430 in Asia Wednesday. Dollar short-covering by offshore
\nplayers kept the currency buoyed, while heavy offers to sell the
\ndollar close to the Rp 8,450 level stymied the currency's rise.<\/p>\n
Around 0840 GMT, the dollar was at Rp 8,385, up from Rp 8,300
\nlate Tuesday in Asia.<\/p>\n
Despite the market's concerns, Standard Chartered Bank's
\ntreasury economist, Steve Brice, said Rizal's decision to review
\nthe IMF program was unsurprising since the new economic team \"is
\njust coming in to evaluate the system.\"<\/p>\n
\"We won't view it as too negative at this stage,\" Brice said,
\nbut added that the government \"doesn't have a lot of time.\"<\/p>\n
\"They really need to decide what they're going to do and do it
\nfairly quickly to restore market confidence,\" he said, adding
\nthat he expects a \"slightly weaker bias in the short term\" for
\nthe rupiah.<\/p>\n
The rest of the Southeast Asian currencies felt the brunt of
\nthe rupiah's weakness.<\/p>\n
The Thai baht weakened to 40.985 baht to the dollar, from
\n40.875 baht late Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Against the Singapore dollar, the U.S. currency edged up to
\nS$1.7230 from S$1.7213 late Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, the dollar closed at 45.087 pesos on the Philippine
\nDealing System, up from Tuesday's close of 45.035 pesos. The
\ndollar rose to a fresh one-month high earlier in the session at
\n45.105 pesos, its highest since 45.120 pesos on July 27.<\/p>\n
In North Asia, the New Taiwan dollar finished marginally
\nhigher as the central bank continued its efforts to prop up the
\nlocal currency, which remains vulnerable to a slumping local
\nstock market, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar ended at NT$31.067, down slightly from
\nNT$31.070 late Tuesday.<\/p>",
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