Asian monies mixed; rupiah weakness offsets yen<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Asian currencies were mixed late
\nWednesday, as a tug of war between a sagging Indonesian rupiah
\nand a resilient Japanese yen kept the currencies confined within
\nnarrow trading bands, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The rupiah extended Tuesday's descent, as the tussle between
\nthe Indonesian central bank governor and President Abdurrahman
\n\"Gus Dur\" Wahid continued to discourage market participants,
\ndealers said.<\/p>\n
\"What's going on damages the credibility of the president and
\nsuggests that he has little respect for the central bank's
\nindependence or for the due process of law,\" said Simon Flint,
\nforeign exchange strategist at Bank of America.<\/p>\n
\"People's expectations of the imminent imposition of capital
\ncontrols are also dropping off significantly, so there's very
\nlittle reason to sell the dollar-rupiah at the moment.\"<\/p>\n
After being named a suspect by the government in the Bank Bali
\nscandal Tuesday, Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin won a
\nreprieve from parliament, the only body authorized to dismiss
\nhim. Parliament can only fire Sjahril if he were found guilty.<\/p>\n
Indonesian police chief General Rusdihardjo said Wednesday the
\npolice plan to investigate further a report by Bank Indonesia
\nthat allegedly accused President Wahid of interfering with the
\nindependence of the central bank. This failed to calm investor
\njitters.<\/p>\n
Some observers said the conflict between the central bank and
\nGus Dur's administration could only get worse when the president
\nstarts his two-week world tour. The president is scheduled to
\nleave Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"Gus Dur (Wahid) tends to use his overseas trips as a
\nmegaphone to the world - especially when it comes to undermining
\nhis opponents,\" Flint at Bank of America said. \"Pressure is
\nlikely to remain on the central bank governor for that reason.\"<\/p>\n
In late trading, the dollar was at Rp 8,630, up from Rp 8,585
\nlate Tuesday. Dealers said there were some offers around Rp
\n8,650.<\/p>\n
Unverified rumors that some Indonesian companies would have to
\nmeet their debt repayment schedule over the next few months had
\nalso weighed on the rupiah.<\/p>\n
The dollar is expected to climb further in the short term to
\nthe recent high of Rp 8,800 it reached in mid-May, market
\nobservers said.<\/p>\n
Despite its vigor, the yen failed to tug most of the other
\nregional currencies higher as much as it usually would, thanks to
\nworries over the ailing rupiah, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The dollar was at Y105.63 at 0855 GMT, below Y105.77 late
\nTuesday in New York.<\/p>\n
Against the Thai currency, the dollar was at 38.895 baht,
\nsteady from Tuesday's level.<\/p>\n
The dollar has also moved little vis-a-vis its Singapore
\ncounterpart, trading at S$1.7222 from S$1.7227 late Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso, however, managed to retain some strength
\nfrom the yen's rise.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 42.360 pesos on the Philippine Dealing
\nSystem, down from 42.380 pesos at the previous close. Dealers
\nsaid banks unwinding long-dollar positions and thin corporate
\ndemand for the U.S. currency also underpinned the peso.<\/p>\n
The market was cool to President Joseph Estrada's order to put
\nthe country on a 24-hour security alert during his state visit to
\nJapan, which was seen as a \"precautionary measure\" aimed at
\nincreasing the vigilance of the police and military to terrorist
\nattacks.<\/p>\n
The New Taiwan dollar closed relatively flat, as importer
\nbuying of the U.S. currency damped the effect from a stronger
\nyen.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar closed at NT$30.791, little changed from
\nMonday's close of NT$30.92.<\/p>\n
The South Korean won ended at its highest level against the
\nU.S. dollar in four weeks on demand for the local currency
\nfollowing heavy buying by foreign investors in the Seoul stock
\nmarket, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The dollar finished at 1,113.10 won, down from Monday's close
\nat 1,117.40 won. Wednesday's closing level was its lowest since
\nMay 10 when it ended at 1,109.10 won.<\/p>\n
The financial markets in Seoul and Taipei were closed Tuesday
\nfor national holidays.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-monies-mixed-rupiah-weakness-offsets-yen-1447893297",
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