SE Asian currencies mixed against dollar<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Southeast Asian currencies were mixed,
\nbut with a firm tone against the U.S. dollar in quiet trading
\nlate Monday, even as the yen slowly weakened throughout the
\nsession.<\/p>\n
\"The positive and close correlation between the yen and
\nregional currencies has weakened somewhat in the past week,\" said
\nDaniel Lian, head of Asian markets research at ANZ Bank in
\nSingapore. \"Asian currencies should continue to maintain their
\nfirm levels.\"<\/p>\n
At 09:00 GMT (4:00 a.m. EST), the U.S. dollar was trading at
\n123.74 yen, up from 122.82 in late Asian trading Friday.<\/p>\n
Traders and economists ascribed the de-coupling to a general
\nlack of interest in taking on new risk, especially in emerging
\nmarkets, while year-end book closing and squaring of positions
\nhave become the order of the trading day.<\/p>\n
\"The (U.S.) dollar-yen, dollar-mark is still fairly active,
\nand the regionals will move accordingly, although we see more and
\nmore of a lag time in response,\" said a trader at a Thai bank in
\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
\"Asian currencies are not necessarily reverting back to their
\nearlier behavior of blindly tracking dollar-yen,\" said a treasury
\neconomist at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.<\/p>\n
He added that currencies such as the Thai baht and Philippine
\npeso should be able to hold on to recent gains even if mild yen
\nweakness persists.<\/p>\n
\"Institutions are closing down their books but they will
\nmaintain a bias toward Asian currencies and that will give
\ncontinued buoyancy to the markets in the region,\" Lian said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar was trading at 39.44 pesos, unchanged from
\nlate Friday. Economists said strong inflows from overseas workers
\nand the sale of stakes in domestic companies such as Philippine
\nLong Distance Telephone Co. and San Miguel Corp., would continue
\nto bolster the country's current and capital accounts.<\/p>\n
\"It is the improvement in the balance of payments that will
\nattract the market's interest,\" one economist said, adding that
\nlast week's announcement that third-quarter gross national
\nproduct had grown by 0.8 percent would likely lead to a re-
\nassessment of the Philippine economy, fueling more capital
\ninflows.<\/p>\n
Thailand has also been benefiting from a market reassessment,
\neconomists said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar was trading at 36.0750 baht, down from 36.12
\nFriday. The U.S. dollar did fall below 36 last week, but traders
\nexpect that another assault on this key resistance level will be
\ndifficult to muster, especially as the Bank of Thailand continues
\nto dabble in the market.<\/p>\n
The central bank's foreign reserves had ballooned $300 million
\nto more than $28 billion on Nov. 20, according to Standard
\nChartered Bank, although \"the steady accumulation of reserves
\n(and paying down of its forward position) does not represent a
\nmore active (foreign exchange) policy.\"<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar is trading at 7,425 rupiah, little changed
\nfrom 7,475 Friday. Ongoing civil unrest doesn't appear to have
\naffected the rupiah, traders said, which has remained firm and
\nwithin a tight range for a number of sessions. The government's
\nannouncement Monday that the economy will contract by roughly
\n13.4 percent had little effect on the currency.<\/p>\n
\"The market is limited to onshore, state banks and commercial
\norders,\" said a trader at a U.S. bank in Singapore. \"The market
\nis so thin that I wouldn't be surprised if changing sentiment -
\npositive or negative, either one - quickly pushed the (U.S.)
\ndollar below 7,000 or above 8,000.\"<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar was also trading at S$1.6513, down from
\nS$1.6542 Friday, after heading south late in the afternoon,
\nmirroring a decline against the yen.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar-yen continues to exert its influence on the
\nU.S. dollar-Singapore dollar in the short term, an economist
\nsaid, adding that the Singapore dollar is also popular in the
\ncross market, because of \"rate spread and decoupling from Asian
\ncurrencies, especially the peso and won.\"<\/p>\n
\"From a trade-competitiveness standpoint, the MAS (Monetary
\nAuthority of Singapore) would probably like to see the (U.S.)
\ndollar at S$1.68 or so and it will probably head there as the yen
\ncontinues to weaken,\" said a trader at a U.S. investment bank.<\/p>\n
In North Asia, the U.S. dollar was trading at 32.429 New
\nTaiwan dollars, up a touch from NT$32.442 Friday. The U.S.
\ncurrency was also trading at 1,245.7 South Korean won, up from
\n1,241 Friday.<\/p>",
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