SE Asian currencies shuffle sideways amid few indicators<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Southeast Asian currencies continued
\ntheir sideways shuffle during Asian trading on Thursday.<\/p>\n
With few developments to give traders any incentive either to
\nbuy or to sell, both the Thai baht and the Indonesian rupiah
\nended flat on the day. The more liquid Singapore dollar
\nfaithfully shadowed the yen higher, while the Philippine peso
\nslipped back, giving up a little more of Tuesday's gains.<\/p>\n
In North Asia the South Korean won remained range-bound as
\nofficials warned against excessive local currency strength in the
\nface of a barrage of positive economic news. The new Taiwan
\ndollar inched higher in response to favorable trade data.<\/p>\n
Although there was some interest from offshore players to buy
\nU.S. dollars against the Thai baht, this was easily countered by
\nselling interest from Thai exporters, which served to cap the
\nU.S. currency at 37.80 baht.<\/p>\n
Despite the resistance the U.S. dollar is facing, and the news
\nlate Wednesday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had
\nreleased a further US$500 million to Thailand, commending the
\ngovernment's exchange rate and interest rate policies, offshore
\nmarket sentiment still favors a stronger U.S. currency and a
\nweaker baht.<\/p>\n
In the near term, however, offshore players are unlikely to
\nsell the Thai currency short aggressively, fearful of a liquidity
\nsqueeze in the offshore market during next week's three-day
\nSonkran Festival holiday in Thailand.<\/p>\n
Late Thursday in Asia, the U.S. dollar was trading at 37.7650
\nbaht, little different from 37.7550 the day before.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian rupiah was also flat despite a sharp fall in
\nSBI rates at Wednesday's auction to 36.40% from 37.42%. Fears
\nthat Bank Indonesia would sell U.S. dollars through the state
\nbanks to curb any rise in the U.S. currency above Rp 8,800
\ndeterred offshore players from actively bidding.<\/p>\n
Late in Asian hours, the U.S. dollar was at Rp 8,760, barely
\nchanged from Rp 8,765 the previous day.<\/p>\n
Against the Singapore dollar, the U.S. currency weakened
\nslightly, giving up a little ground under pressure from corporate
\noffers and from its fall against the Japanese yen in Tokyo
\ntrading.<\/p>\n
For the time being, however, the U.S. currency remains
\nrelatively heavy. It ended Asian trade on Thursday at S$1.7327,
\ndown slightly from S$1.7365 late Wednesday, although still well
\nwithin recent trading ranges.<\/p>\n
On the Philippine Dealing System, the U.S. dollar ended lower
\nagainst the peso for the second day in a row after rallying in
\nprevious sessions.<\/p>\n
Dealers said that the central bank's one percentage point cut
\nto banks' reserve requirements late Wednesday had little impact
\non trading.<\/p>\n
At the close of Thursday's session, the U.S. dollar was at
\n38.500 pesos, up from 38.400 pesos the day before.<\/p>\n
In North Asia the dollar ended higher against the South Korean
\nwon on buying by the Export-Import Bank, which supported the U.S.
\ncurrency, despite a barrage of dollar-negative news.<\/p>\n
The bullish mood failed to lift the won, however, as verbal
\ninterventions from officials and active U.S. dollar-buying by the
\nExport-Import bank, universally believed to be at the
\nauthorities' request, supported the U.S. currency.<\/p>\n
At the end of local trading, the U.S. dollar finished at
\n1,223.10 won, higher than 1,222.80 won on Wednesday, but well
\nwithin the 1,219 to 1,225 range it has kept for the last two
\nweeks.<\/p>\n
Against the new Taiwan dollar, the U.S. currency slipped back
\nslightly, as the announcement of $2.67 billion trade surplus for
\nthe first quarter -- a much larger figure than the market had
\nexpected -- helped to buoy the local currency.<\/p>\n
At the close, the U.S. dollar was quoted at NT$33.118, down
\nfrom NT$33.130 the previous day.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/se-asian-currencies-shuffle-sideways-amid-few-indicators-1447893297",
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