Asian monies inch up in subdued trading<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (Dow Jones): Tumbling stock prices weighed on North
\nAsia's currencies Monday, but the falls seen in the foreign
\nexchange market were mild compared to the slide in regional
\nequities.<\/p>\n
Most Southeast Asian currencies edged higher in subdued
\ntrading, but the rupiah finished Asian hours down on the day.<\/p>\n
Rupiah closed lower in illiquid trading Monday as London-based
\nparticipants bought back the dollar following its slide Friday
\nand early in the session.<\/p>\n
After falling to an intraday low of Rp 7,363 rupiah, the
\ndollar closed at Rp 7,425, up from Rp 7,380 late Friday in Asia.<\/p>\n
\"Out of the blue the London-based participants bought back the
\ndollar,\" said a dealer with a European bank in Jakarta. \"I think
\nthey were just playing the range as I don't see any fundamental
\nreasons for the dollar's rise.\"<\/p>\n
Dealers said that local companies, which were usually keen to
\nbuy the U.S. unit stayed on the sidelines Monday.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect market participants to adopt range-trading
\ntactic Tuesday by trading the dollar between Rp 7,350 and Rp
\n7,450 on lack of fresh incentives.<\/p>\n
The precipitous 6.5 percent plunge in Taipei's benchmark stock
\nindex triggered selling of New Taiwan dollar in both the onshore
\nspot market and the offshore market in non-deliverable forward
\ncontracts.<\/p>\n
At the end of Monday's session, the U.S. dollar was quoted
\nagainst the Taiwanese currency at NT$30.741, up from NT$30.736 at
\nthe previous close.<\/p>\n
A drop in South Korean stock prices also pulled the won lower
\nMonday, as institutional investors bailed out of the market,
\nreacting partly by expectations that heavy domestic fund
\nredemptions would weigh on equity prices.<\/p>\n
Data showing that South Korea posted a $1.35 billion trade
\ndeficit during the first 10 days of March also weighed on the
\ncurrency. Analysts counseled against paying to much attention to
\nthe figure, however, warning that intramonth data aren't
\nrepresentative of Korea's favorable overall trade position.<\/p>\n
At the close the dollar was trading at 1,120.40 won, up from
\n1,119.70 won Friday.<\/p>\n
Trading in Southeast Asian currencies was tightly range-bound,
\nwith little fresh news to excite the market.<\/p>\n
Against the Singapore dollar, the U.S. currency eased to
\nS$1.7046 late in Asian trading, from S$1.7062 towards the end of
\nFriday's session.<\/p>\n
Against the baht, the dollar slipped to 37.8250 baht, from
\n37.8400 baht Friday.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso inched a touch higher, with the U.S.
\ncurrency falling to close at 40.865 pesos, down from 40.890 pesos
\nat the previous close.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-monies-inch-up-in-subdued-trading-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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