Dollar falls against euro, yen pushes Asian currencies higher<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The dollar's decline against the euro
\nand yen opened the door for a rally in Asian currencies on
\nThursday, helping the Singapore dollar climb to a two-month high.<\/p>\n
The U.S. currency has been losing ground over the past few
\nsessions, particularly against the euro, amid uncertainties about
\nweak corporate earnings and the overall state of the U.S.
\neconomy.<\/p>\n
Many players in markets like Singapore, who had taken long
\npositions in the U.S. dollar on expectations that it would
\nstrengthen, have been forced to liquidate those positions in
\nrecent days as the exchange rate moved against them, dealers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The triggering of stop-loss orders accelerated the fall of the
\ndollar against it's Singapore counterpart Thursday, pushing the
\nU.S. currency below S$1.80 in intraday trading for the first time
\nin two months.<\/p>\n
"People have been cutting their long positions in the globally
\nweak dollar environment," said Simon Flint, a Bank of America
\ncurrency strategist based in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Flint said the recent uptick in the Singapore dollar is
\ntemporary and that he expects the U.S. dollar will resume its
\nupward trend in the coming months.<\/p>\n
Late in Asian trading the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.8041,
\ndown from $1.8170 late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian rupiah continued to bask in the glow of
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri's new government.<\/p>\n
The rupiah closed slightly higher as the national assembly
\nelected a conservative Muslim leader to the vice presidency.<\/p>\n
But the rupiah had to give up most of its earlier gains as
\nlocal companies snapped up the dollar to repay maturing foreign
\ndebts.<\/p>\n
After falling to a five-month low of Rp 9,775, the dollar
\nclosed at Rp 9,950, down from Rp 10,000 Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The market welcomed the assembly's election of Hamzah Haz as
\nthe country's new vice president ahead of Golkar's candidate
\nAkbar Tandjung.<\/p>\n
The market was concerned that street protests would have
\nbecome a daily occurrence should Tandjung have been elected as
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri's deputy.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesian Governor Sjahril Sabirin said
\nThursday he expects the rupiah to continue to strengthen as
\nsentiment improves following the smooth political transition in
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
"I expect the rupiah to continue to strengthen as market
\nsentiment has improved and is getting better," he told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
The Thai baht edged higher, riding the coattails of the
\nstrengthening Singapore dollar.<\/p>\n
U.S. and European banks sold the dollar against the baht,
\npushing the U.S. currency to an intraday low of 45.6100 baht.
\nHowever, the strength was partly offset by corporate demand for
\ndollars, mainly from oil companies, to settle their month-end
\nobligations, traders said.<\/p>\n
Late in Asian dealing the dollar was quoted at 45.660 baht,
\ndown from 45.750 baht late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The dollar's overnight slip below 124 yen and the Kospi's
\nfinish up 0.6 percent helped fuel the won's rise. Sending the won
\neven higher was comments by Minister of Commerce, Industry and
\nEnergy Chang Che-shik that the dollar should be trading between
\n1,200 and 1,250 won.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 1,298.3 won, down from 1,308.8 won a day
\nearlier.<\/p>\n
The story in Taiwan was similar, with the stronger yen and a
\nnearly 4 percent rise in the stock market boosting the local
\ncurrency to its seventh straight rise.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar closed at NT$34.786, compared with NT$34.850
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso got swept along with other rising regional
\ncurrencies. The dollar closed near its intraday low at 53.42
\npesos on the Philippine Dealing System, down from 53.60 pesos
\nWednesday.<\/p>",
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