Southeast Asian currencies drift higher as yen surges<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The U.S. dollar's fall against the yen
\nin thin Asian trading late on Friday finally pushed sluggish
\nSoutheast Asian currencies higher, traders said.<\/p>\n
\"The U.S. raids on Iraqi are a non-factor now. Only the lack
\nof liquidity is managing to drive the market. One or two bank
\norders can quickly drive the U.S. dollar higher or lower,\" said
\none trader at a U.S. bank in Singapore.<\/p>\n
That happened late in the Asian session when the yen suddenly
\nspiked, quickly climbing as high as 114.70 yen against the U.S.
\ndollar from around 116 yen.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar's sudden drop against the yen roiled regional
\ncurrencies, which had been moving sideways during the session,
\nalthough there was a noticeable lag in response, traders said.<\/p>\n
In a late trading, the U.S. dollar was trading at S$1.6485,
\ndown a touch from S$1.6493 late Thursday and from S$1.6490 last
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Traders said the correlation between the Singapore dollar and
\nthe yen has waned somewhat during the past month. While the U.S.
\ndollar falls against yen, the U.S. currency has gradually
\nappreciated against the Singapore dollar.
\n\" The Monetary Authority of Singapore has been active in the
\nmarket, pushing interbank rates down, asking the local banks to
\nbuy U.S. dollars and generally preventing the U.S. dollar from
\nfalling below S$1.60, where it should be if it was tracking the
\nyen,\" said the head of foreign exchange at a U.S. bank in
\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
Kate O'Donaghue, an economist at Barclays Capital in
\nSingapore, said the Singapore dollar should be the MAS's policy
\nweapon of choice to ensure that Singapore's current recession is
\na soft one.<\/p>\n
While Singapore languishes, Thailand is looking to get back on
\nits feet after this week's dismal Financial Restructuring Agency
\nauction of $10.5 billion in seized assets from 56 defunct
\nfinancial institutions.<\/p>\n
Only 39 of the 45 tranches were bid for by domestic and
\nforeign buyers on Tuesday. By Friday, the FRA had accepted the
\nbidding prices for just nine tranches. The FRA is now trying to
\nnegotiate better prices with the other potential buyers of the 30
\nremaining tranches -- buyers who had submitted bids ranging from
\neight cents to $0.30 on the dollar.<\/p>\n
\"The FRA is in a quandary. They can't be seen to be disposing
\nassets at knock-down prices to foreigners, who will then go away
\nand make big profits. On the other hand, they want to dispose of
\nthe assets,\" O'Donoghue said.<\/p>\n
The peso -- more so than other regional currencies -- seems to
\nget blown around more by events in the region,\" said a trader at
\na U.S. bank. \"If the baht weakens, so does the peso. In the short
\nterm, the movement isn't really related to country fundamentals.\"<\/p>\n
In North Asia, the U.S. dollar was trading at 32.274 New
\nTaiwan dollars, almost unchanged from NT$32.272 late Thursday and
\nNT$32.284 last Friday. The U.S. dollar was also trading at 1207.9
\nwon, down from 1,209.3 won Thursday but unchanged from 1,207 last
\nFriday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/southeast-asian-currencies-drift-higher-as-yen-surges-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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