Asian monies mixed, rupiah firmer<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Singapore<\/p>\n
Intervention by regional central banks and short covering on the
\ndollar ahead of the weekend reined in Asian currencies late on
\nFriday despite the weak tone of the U.S. unit.<\/p>\n
The Thai baht and the Philippine peso were lower; the
\nIndonesian rupiah was firmer; and the Singapore dollar and New
\nTaiwan dollar were steady. South Korean markets were closed for a
\npublic holiday.<\/p>\n
The rupiah was boosted by continued inflows of funds into the
\nlocal capital market by investors seeking higher returns, traders
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
After a choppy session, the dollar closed local trading at Rp
\n8,180, down from Rp 8,225 Thursday.<\/p>\n
Although profit taking pulled the dollar out of its intraday
\ntrough of Rp 8,170, traders said it remains on track to head
\nlower.<\/p>\n
"People still believe the dollar will fall to Rp 8,100," said
\na dealer with a local bank. "It's only a matter of time."<\/p>\n
The Thai baht rose to a fresh 10-month high of 41.47 to the
\ndollar.<\/p>\n
Traders in Singapore said Thailand's central bank, via agent
\nbanks, aggressively bought dollars from the 41.50 baht level
\nthrough the session.<\/p>\n
Around early afternoon, Bank of Thailand Governor Pridiyathorn
\nDevakula told reporters he expects the dollar to regain ground
\nagainst the baht. He said the baht will soon weaken because it's
\nlikely to move in line with regional counterparts.<\/p>\n
"We are monitoring its movement," he said. At the time of his
\ncomments, the dollar was trading around 41.53 baht.<\/p>\n
At 0911 GMT (4.11 p.m. Jakarta time), the dollar was quoted
\naround 41.65 baht, up from 41.58 baht at the Asian close late on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Meantime, there was also talk that the Monetary Authority of
\nSingapore intervened to support the U.S. currency on Friday,
\nalthough several traders said there was little evidence to
\nsupport the speculation.<\/p>\n
A European bank trader said several U.S. and local banks were
\nbuyers of the U.S. currency, but that they were likely covering
\nshort positions ahead of the weekend.<\/p>\n
Late in the local session, the U.S. unit was quoted at
\nUS$1.7235, little changed from S$1.7233 late on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The New Taiwan dollar snapped a four-session winning streak to
\nend flat on heavy intervention by Taiwan's central bank late in
\nthe session, traders said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar closed at its intraday high of NT$34.665,
\nunchanged from Thursday.<\/p>\n
The U.S. currency had traded below NT$34.635 for most of the
\nsession amid the inflow of foreign funds into local stocks, and
\nalso the strong yen, traders said.<\/p>\n
But a flurry of dollar buying by the central bank in late
\ntrading pulled up the U.S. unit.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso was driven to its lowest closing in more
\nthan two months by higher corporate demand for dollars, and also
\nas banks built up dollar positions amid lower domestic interest
\nrates, traders said.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 53.450 pesos on the Philippine Dealing
\nSystem, up from 53.330 pesos on Thursday, marking its strongest
\nfinish since March 31.<\/p>\n
Banks bought dollars to capitalize on the narrowing of
\ndifferential between U.S. and domestic rates after the central
\nbank's de facto easing of monetary policy Thursday.<\/p>\n
The central bank reinstated the tiered interest rate system on
\nits overnight borrowing, which effectively lowered the overnight
\nborrowing rate to a three-tiered rate of 1 percent, 4 percent and
\n7 percent, from a flat 7 percent.<\/p>\n
"The restoration of the tiering system makes banks more liquid
\nin pesos, and the dollar is the only attractive instrument to
\nplace these funds at this time," said a Manila-based trader with
\na local bank.<\/p>",
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