Most Asian currencies tumble<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The gloom surrounding the Japanese yen
\nsent most Asian currencies reeling late Thursday, with the Thai
\nbaht and the Singapore dollar slumping to their lowest levels
\nsince the first quarter of 1998.<\/p>\n
The South Korean won fell to it's weakest level since early
\nNovember 1998. The Philippine peso and the New Taiwan dollar were
\nalso dragged lower.<\/p>\n
Indifferent to the region's woes, the Indonesian currency was
\nfirmer thanks to aggressive intervention by both the local
\ncentral bank and the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.<\/p>\n
Dealers believed the central bank and IBRA sold a total of $60
\nmillion Thursday amid reduced dollar demand from local companies.<\/p>\n
The dollar fell to an intraday low of Rp 10,275 due to the
\ndollar selling, but it rebounded quickly as the slide increased
\nlocal companies' appetite for the dollar.<\/p>\n
The dollar ended at Rp 10,390, down from Rp 10,425 Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"The dollar was well supported below Rp 10,300,\" said a dealer
\nwith a foreign bank. \"I think the dollar will climb back to above
\nRp 10,400 if Bank Indonesia doesn't keep pumping dollars into the
\nmarket.\"<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar extended its relentless fall in late
\ntrading, briefly breaking below S$1.7900 support against its U.S.
\ncounterpart to brush S$1.7905, its weakest level since January
\n1998, at the height of the Asian financial crisis.<\/p>\n
But fears of intervention by the Monetary Authority of
\nSingapore, the city-state's de facto central bank, led
\nparticipants to unwind their U.S. dollar positions, dealers said.<\/p>\n
\"Everybody was selling (U.S. dollars),\" said a dealer at an
\nAsian bank. \"These are the target levels that people are looking
\nto sell. I don't see the central bank coming in.\"<\/p>\n
At 0855 GMT, the U.S. dollar was at S$1.7878, up from S$1.7802
\nlate Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Widespread projections that the yen could extend its decline
\ntoward Y125 and the euro's langour below $0.90 have provided
\nenough incentive for the market to go short in the Singapore
\ndollar, dealers said.<\/p>\n
Late Thursday, the dollar extended its inexorable rise against
\nthe major currencies. The euro fell to a fresh 2001 low of
\n$0.8867, while the Australian dollar slipped to a new all-time
\nlow at $0.4898. Against the yen, the dollar was at Y124.07, above
\nY123.43 late Wednesday in New York.<\/p>\n
The Thai currency briefly fell to its weakest level since
\nMarch 1998, when it touched an intraday low of 44.47 baht against
\nthe dollar earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
Late in the day, the dollar was at 44.445 baht, higher than
\n44.165 baht late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Expectations of a further fall in the baht prompted some
\nforeign banks, in particular a U.S. one, to push up dollar\/baht
\nforwards. But this only makes it costly to go long in dollars in
\nthe spot market, prompting some dealers to say a downward
\ncorrection in the U.S. currency would be imminent.<\/p>\n
\"It's a deterrent to be buying dollar-baht outright,\" said a
\ndealer at a U.S. bank.<\/p>\n
The flagging baht cast a shadow on the Philippine peso, which
\nclosed at 48.955 pesos against the dollar, weaker than its
\nprevious close of 48.633 pesos.<\/p>\n
The yen's impact on North Asian currencies was also
\nunyielding.<\/p>\n
The South Korean won closed at 1,318.6 won against the dollar,
\nits weakest level since Nov. 3, 1998.<\/p>\n
The New Taiwan dollar closed at an 11-week low of NT$32.864
\nagainst its U.S. counterpart, compared with NT$32.771 Wednesday.<\/p>",
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