Asian monies mostly up on equity inflows<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Singapore<\/p>\n
Most Asian currencies strengthened against the dollar on
\nMonday, except for the Philippine peso, which weakened amid
\nimporter demand for the U.S. unit.<\/p>\n
Foreign inflows into the equity markets in Taiwan and South
\nKorea supported the currencies there, dealers said. The Singapore
\ndollar and Thai baht also strengthened in lackluster sessions,
\nwhile the Indonesian rupiah finished little changed.<\/p>\n
In Manila, importers stepped up their dollar purchases as they
\nnormally do in the third quarter in preparation for increased
\nconsumer spending for Christmas.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at a four-month high of 53.750 peso, up from
\n53.720 peso late on Friday.<\/p>\n
In Seoul, foreign investors bought a net 105 billion won worth
\nof shares on the Korea Stock Exchange Monday. Foreigners normally
\nbuy won and sell dollars to settle their purchases.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 1,178.4 won, down from 1,182.7 won on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Tensions over North Korea's nuclear program didn't hurt the
\nSouth Korean currency much although investors became "more
\ncautious" on the news that the communist North may be operating a
\nsecond facility, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The dollar got some support as Korean companies bought the
\nU.S. currency to settle their import deals, lifting it as high as
\n1,182.0 won in the morning session.<\/p>\n
Against the New Taiwan dollar, the U.S. currency closed at
\nNT$34.425, down from NT$34.468 late on Friday.<\/p>\n
Overseas investors helped fuel a 1.3 percent rise in the
\nweighted index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange, dealers said,
\nhelping spur demand for the Taiwan currency.<\/p>\n
Foreigners bought a net NT$1.68 billion in Taiwan shares
\nMonday, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n
Another Taiwan dealer said, however, the U.S. dollar will
\nlikely rise against the yen again Tuesday, and that will put more
\npressure on the local unit.<\/p>\n
With little in the way of domestic news to drive trading in
\nSingapore, the local currency tracked its regional peers.<\/p>\n
Late in Asia the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7576, down from
\nS$1.7620 late on Friday.<\/p>\n
DBS Bank said in a research report published Monday that it
\nexpected domestic data in the coming months to reflect
\nSingapore's improving economic fundamentals, which would in turn
\nboost sentiment on the local dollar.<\/p>\n
But with no major economic indicators due this week, DBS said
\nit expected the U.S. dollar-Singapore dollar pair to keep within
\nthe current range of S$1.7500-S$1.7600.<\/p>\n
The baht's moves similarly were reflective of the regional
\ntrend.<\/p>\n
Near the end of Asian trading the dollar was quoted at 41.70
\nbaht, down from 41.76 baht late on Friday.<\/p>\n
"Trading was lackluster, with only a few transactions, due to
\nan absence of market participants with a public holiday in
\nJapan," one traders said.<\/p>\n
The central bank's monetary policy committee left its 14-day
\nrepurchase market target rate unchanged at 1.25 percent at a
\npolicy meeting Monday, as expected.<\/p>\n
Against the rupiah the dollar was quoted at Rp 8,320, barely
\nchanged from late Friday.<\/p>\n
Suspected central bank intervention supported the local
\ncurrency amid dollar demand from importers and local companies
\nsettling offshore debts.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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