Asian monies mixed on equity flows, intervention fear<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Singapore<\/p>\n
Asian currencies put up a mixed showing on Thursday supported
\nby strong equity inflows, but with the central bank intervention
\ntheme a strong deterrent to attempts to take the units too high.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar, the Philippine peso and the Indonesian
\nrupiah slipped, while the South Korean won, the Thai baht and the
\nNew Taiwan dollar were modestly higher.<\/p>\n
Analysts said central banks in the region are loathe to allow
\ntheir currencies to appreciate too fast for fear of losing export
\ncompetitiveness at a time of uncertainty for the global economy.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar fell to a one-month low during the
\nsession, but managed to trim losses. Late in the local session,
\nthe U.S. unit was quoted at S$1.7380, up from S$1.7365 late on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
A trader at a European bank in Singapore said there were a lot
\nof U.S. names buying the currency pair, continuing a trend seen
\nin the last few days.<\/p>\n
There's been talk in the market in recent days that the
\nMonetary Authority of Singapore has been supporting the U.S.
\ndollar, which has damped any enthusiasm to push up the local
\nunit.<\/p>\n
Talk of such intervention seems to be supported by the recent
\nforeign reserves data, which showed a sharp rise in reserves last
\nmonth, analysts said.<\/p>\n
The trader said he believes the government wants to weaken the
\nSingapore dollar to make it more competitive against countries
\nlike neighboring Malaysia, whose currency, the ringgit, is pegged
\nto the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 53.610 peso on the Philippine Dealing
\nSystem, up from 53.535 peso on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Against the Indonesian rupiah, the dollar was quoted around Rp
\n8,251 late in Asia, up from Rp 8,230 on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Market players continued to take profit on the rupiah, which
\nhas rallied sharply in recent weeks, amid concerns the central
\nbank might intervene to stem the rise.<\/p>\n
Analyst said the rupiah is expensive and on a purchasing power
\nparity basis, its fair value should be closer to 10,000 to the
\ndollar.<\/p>\n
Still, the analyst said continued interest in the high-
\nyielding currency and the momentum of good news in the country
\nshould help the rupiah rise to Rp 7,500 by September, although it
\nshould then go on to lose ground by year end.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia Thursday cut its overnight money
\nmarket intervention rate for the second time this month on easing
\ninflation to help spur economic growth.<\/p>\n
The South Korean won edged up despite official jawboning,
\nalthough overall activity was quiet as traders believe the
\ngovernment had already intervened in the previous session to
\nsupport the dollar at 1,190 won.<\/p>\n
Exporters, foreigners and players fixing non-deliverable
\nforwards positions all sold the dollar, which closed at 1,193.2
\nwon, down from 1,195.4 won on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The New Taiwan dollar was boosted by foreign equity inflows
\nwhich put the U.S. unit ended at NT$34.667, down from Wednesday's
\nNT$34.682.<\/p>\n
The Thai baht recovered from an early drop to move to a
\nstronger footing. Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted around
\n41.72 baht, down from 41.79 bahy on Wednesday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-monies-mixed-on-equity-flows-intervention-fear-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}