Asian monies mostly lower, peso up on tighter policy<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (Dow Jones): Most Asian currencies ended regional
\ndealing hours Friday lower against the U.S. dollar following a
\nnearly featureless trading session.<\/p>\n
In Southeast Asia, the Singapore dollar, the Thai baht and the
\nIndonesian rupiah all closed slightly lower, but the Philippine
\npeso gained ground after the country's central bank tightened
\nmonetary policy a notch.<\/p>\n
In North Asia, the New Taiwan dollar was nudged a touch lower
\nby the local central bank, while the South Korean won finished
\nflat on the day.<\/p>\n
Market participants said the softness of the regional
\ncurrencies reflected the general strength of the U.S. dollar, as
\nwell as a reluctance to take on board new risks ahead of the
\nweekend and the release, due later Friday, of U.S. employment
\ndata for February.<\/p>\n
\"The Japanese yen may have strengthened over the last few
\ndays, but the dollar is still very strong overall,\" said a trader
\nat a Singapore bank.<\/p>\n
Dealers blamed a large overnight customer order to buy euros
\nagainst the Singapore dollar for the Singapore currency's fall
\nagainst the U.S. dollar. The order was variously attributed to
\npurchases of big ticket capital goods by Singapore companies or
\nto Singapore corporations making equity investments in Europe.<\/p>\n
Whatever the cause, the order triggered a round of position
\nadjustments in the Singapore market Friday, which weighed on the
\nlocal currency.<\/p>\n
Toward the end of Asian trading, the U.S. dollar had climbed
\nto S$1.7223, up from S$1.7161 the previous day. With the U.S.
\ncurrency again trading above S$1.7200, many dealers believe the
\nU.S. dollar could breach the S$1.7300 level in the coming week,
\npotentially hitting levels around S$1.7320.<\/p>\n
The Thai baht also lost ground, with the dollar edging higher
\nto 37.9550 baht, up from 37.9250 baht late Thursday.<\/p>\n
With a court judgment in the $3.5 billion Thai Petrochemical
\nIndustry bankruptcy case postponed until March 15, many traders
\nbelieve 38.50 baht is a realistic short-term target.<\/p>\n
The rupiah dropped back after Indonesian corporate customers
\ntook advantage of Thursday's rally in the local currency to buy
\ndollars.<\/p>\n
Late Friday in Asia, the U.S. currency was quoted at Rp 7,442
\nrupiah, up from Rp 7,435 the day before.<\/p>\n
In Manila the Philippine peso strengthened after the central
\nbank abolished its two-tier borrowing rate, effectively raising
\novernight interest rates by around 25 basis points to 8.75
\npercent.<\/p>\n
Explaining the move, the first in four months, central bank
\nGovernor Rafael Buenaventura said the tightening anticipates a
\nrate rise by the U.S. Federal Reserve later this month.<\/p>\n
\"Given the expected move in the U.S., we figured it's time to
\nput some minor adjustments,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The action bolstered sentiment towards the peso, and dollar
\nsales pushed the U.S. currency lower to close at 40.880 pesos,
\ncompared with 40.920 pesos the previous day.<\/p>\n
In North Asia, U.S. dollar purchases by the Central Bank of
\nChina - the Taiwanese central bank - were sufficient to check the
\nNew Taiwan dollar's recent appreciation. At the close the U.S.
\ncurrency had been lifted to NT$30.745, from NT$30.712 on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
The won closed flat as Thursday's run-up in the Seoul stock
\nmarket ran out of steam, and foreign exchange market participants
\nheeded official threats of intervention should the won rise too
\nfar or too fast for the Korean authorities' comfort.<\/p>\n
At the close the dollar was unchanged at 1,121.40 won.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-monies-mostly-lower-peso-up-on-tighter-policy-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }