Rupiah falls on dollar-buying, peso falls to new record low<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (Dow Jones): The Indonesian rupiah closed lower
\nThursday on thin volume led by state bank dollar-buying after
\nfalls in regional currencies.<\/p>\n
Strong market rumors that the chairman of the Indonesian Bank
\nRestructuring Agency, Cacuk Sudarijanto, will soon be ousted -
\nwhich he has denied - also edged the rupiah lower.<\/p>\n
Widigdo Sukarman, formerly head of PT Bank Negara Indonesia,
\nis tipped to replace Cacuk.<\/p>\n
The dollar ended at Rp 8,940 in Asia, up from Rp 8,845 late
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
The dollar could test the Rp 9,000 resistance level next week
\nafter sharp losses in the Philippine peso and Thai baht, said a
\nforeign bank treasurer.<\/p>\n
\"It's not surprising that it's spilled over here,\" he said,
\nreferring to the regional currency falls.<\/p>\n
IBRA's Vice Chairman Arwin Rasyid is leaving to join PT Bank
\nDanamon Indonesia, sparking fears of political meddling at the
\npowerful agency.<\/p>\n
Attempts by the Philippine central bank to prop up the falling
\npeso had a minimal impact on Thursday as the country's deepening
\npolitical crisis pushed the currency to its second straight
\nrecord low.<\/p>\n
Philippine President Joseph Estrada Thursday rejected calls
\nfor his resignation in connection with a scandal in which it is
\nalleged he took payoffs from illegal gambling operations.<\/p>\n
The accusations prompted Vice President Gloria Macapagal-
\nArroyo to resign from her cabinet post Thursday, and analysts
\nsaid they expect other walkouts from Estrada's government.<\/p>\n
Philippine Central Bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura, a
\nlongtime friend of Estrada's, has pledged to stick by the
\nembattled president. Buenaventura also said there was no truth to
\nrumors that Estrada's closest economic advisors would resign.<\/p>\n
Estrada, in a television and radio address, denied accusations
\nby a provincial governor that he received more than $10 million
\nin payoffs from illegal gambling operators.<\/p>\n
The dollar opened at 47.315 pesos and quickly broke through
\nthe 48.000 peso level on its way to an intraday high of 48.500
\npesos. A move by the central bank to raise overnight lending
\nrates and banks' reserve requirement helped the peso regain some
\nof its losses, but not enough to prevent it from closing at a
\nrecord low of 47.700 per dollar.<\/p>\n
The Thai baht finished the Asian trading day below the
\npsychologically important level of 43 baht per dollar for the
\nfirst time since June 1998.<\/p>\n
Analysts cited ongoing purchases of dollars by Thai
\ncorporations, concerns over rising energy prices, uncertainty
\nabout upcoming elections, and the weakening peso as major factors
\naffecting the baht.<\/p>\n
Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted at 43.295 baht, up from
\n42.970 baht late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar got swept into the peso and baht selling
\nfrenzy, analysts said.<\/p>\n
However, the city-state's solid economic fundamentals and
\nfears of intervention by the Monetary Authority of Singapore
\nhelped minimize the currency's losses, they said.<\/p>\n
Late Thursday in Asia, the U.S. dollar was trading at
\nS$1.7523, up from S$1.7503 late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The South Korean won fell as Seoul stocks ended sharply lower
\non a surge of last-minute program-selling.<\/p>\n
The dollar finished at 1,122.10 won, up from Wednesday's close
\nof 1,121.40 won.<\/p>\n
The New Taiwan dollar ended lower despite efforts by the
\ncentral bank to lift the currency in the wake of a 3.9 percent
\nplunge in Taiwan stocks.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar closed at NT$31.300, compared with the
\nprevious close of NT$31.298.<\/p>\n
Market participants said the central bank accounted for more
\nthan half of the day's US$500.5 million trading volume, selling
\nU.S. dollars to support the local currency.<\/p>",
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