SE Asian monies steady against U.S. dollar<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Southeast Asian currencies were mostly
\nsteady against the U.S. dollar in late Asian trading Monday, with
\nthe short-term outlook for the region's currencies varying
\nbetween flat to slightly higher, market participants say.<\/p>\n
With no major outcome from the Group of Seven (G-7) meeting of
\nindustrialized nations over the weekend and the focus turning to
\nother emerging financial problems in places like Latin America,
\nthere won't be much selling interest in southeast Asian
\ncurrencies for now, said market players.<\/p>\n
All eyes are also focused on the annual meeting between the
\nInternational Monetary Fund and the World Bank which kicks off
\nlate Monday in the U.S.<\/p>\n
The baht led the gainers late Monday. The U.S. dollar is at
\n39.1750 baht in late offshore trading, down from 39.50 baht in
\nearly trading Monday and 39.52 baht late Friday.<\/p>\n
The boost to the Thai baht Monday came as key cabinet
\nministers retained their portfolios, including the finance and
\ncommerce ministerial posts.<\/p>\n
Thailand announced Monday a major cabinet reshuffle in which
\nthe government brought in the second largest opposition party in
\na move that will boost the ruling coalition.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar and the Indonesian rupiah also gained
\nground against the U.S. dollar by late Monday compared with
\nearlier levels.<\/p>\n
The issue of a S$300 million bond by World Bank's
\nInternational Finance Corp. Monday may have added to the positive
\ntone on the Singapore dollar, said market players. In addition,
\nthe S$1.68 level to the U.S. dollar is seen as a very strong
\npsychological support in the short term, said market players.<\/p>\n
\"The fact that an internationally reputable body like the IFC
\ncan issue a bond in Singapore dollars here is a morale-booster to
\nSingapore,\" said Lee at MCM Asia Pacific.<\/p>\n
In late trading), the dollar is at S$1.6853, down from
\nS$1.6885 late Friday.<\/p>\n
Similarly, the rupiah gained ground against the U.S. dollar
\nMonday on a newspaper report that the government is mulling a
\nmonitoring system on capital flows.<\/p>\n
\"It's just some sort of reporting and not the Malaysian type
\nof capital control,\" a dealer at another U.S. bank said. \"So it's
\nviewed positively,\" he said.<\/p>\n
At late Asian trading, the dollar is at 10,475 rupiah, down
\nfrom 10,675 in late-Friday trading.<\/p>\n
However, bucking the trend, the Philippine peso closed
\nslightly lower against the dollar Monday. Banks dominated
\ntrading, with commercial demand for the U.S. currency remaining
\nlow, traders said.<\/p>\n
At the close, the dollar averaged 43.906 peso on the
\nPhilippine Dealing System, up 3 centavos from Friday's average of
\n43.876 peso. The dollar was last traded at 43.855 peso.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/se-asian-monies-steady-against-us-dollar-1447893297",
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