U.S. dollar stands firm on APEC<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Singapore<\/p>\n
The dollar firmed against most Asian currencies on Tuesday
\nafter regional leaders meeting at an economic summit apparently
\nrebuffed U.S. calls for more flexibility in foreign exchange
\npolicy.<\/p>\n
The U.S. currency strengthened against the South Korean won,
\nthe New Taiwan dollar, the Singapore dollar and the Philippine
\npeso. It weakened against the Thai baht and was little changed
\nagainst the Indonesian rupiah.<\/p>\n
The lack of any reference to foreign exchange rates in the
\ncommunique issued at the conclusion of the APEC summit indicates
\nthe U.S. received no commitment from Asian leaders to stop
\nintervening in foreign exchange markets to suppress the strength
\nof their currencies, analysts said.<\/p>\n
President George W. Bush and other heads of state from the 21-
\nnation Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum wrapped up
\ntwo days of meetings in Bangkok on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"There were expectations that the Asian Pacific Economic forum
\nmight produce an agreement on a weaker U.S. dollar against
\nregional currencies, but judging from the statements we've seen
\nthat isn't going to happen, and bearish sentiment on the U.S.
\ndollar is retreating,\" a currency trader in Taipei said.<\/p>\n
Bank of America said, \"Thus far, Bush's visit seems to have
\nseen every Asian government rebut the U.S. call for
\n'flexibility.\"'<\/p>\n
With the dollar forming such a base, and continuing signs of
\neconomic improvement in the U.S., the dollar could see further
\ngains on short-covering, Bank of America said.<\/p>\n
That was the case with the South Korean won, which tumbled to
\na 10-week low as players were forced to buy dollars to cover
\ntheir short positions in the U.S. currency.<\/p>\n
The U.S. unit got an added boost from local banks buying
\ndollars to meet their foreign exchange provisioning requirements,
\ntraders said.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 1,181.8 won on Tuesday, up from 1,174 won
\nat the close on Monday but off a session high of 1,182.7 won.<\/p>\n
Foreign outflows from the local stock market contributed to
\nthe New Taiwan dollar's fall to its lowest level in a month.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar closed at NT$34.000, up from NT$33.915 on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
Foreigners were net sellers of NT$1.13 billion of Taiwan
\nshares on Tuesday, the first time equity sales by such investors
\noutweighed purchases since Oct. 1.<\/p>\n
Dollar short-covering and corporate demand for the U.S.
\ncurrency from oil companies weighed on the peso.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 54.850 peso on the Philippine Dealing
\nSystem, up from 54.640 peso on Monday.<\/p>\n
Fiscal concerns, revived by the overshoot in the government's
\nbudget deficit goal for September, and weakening economic data
\nsuch as falling imports also have damped investor appetite for
\nthe peso.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar recouped some of its early losses but
\nstill finished Asian hours weaker.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7460 in late trading, up
\nfrom S$1.7390 late in Asia on Monday.<\/p>\n
The U.S. unit climbed as high as S$1.7490 in the first hour of
\ntrading before the Singapore dollar recovered in line with the
\nyen's rise against the U.S. currency.<\/p>\n
The baht strengthened slightly on the heels of the yen's mild
\ngains.<\/p>\n
Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted at 39.965 baht, down from
\n39.985 baht late on Monday.<\/p>\n
The U.S. unit moved between 39.91 baht and 39.99 baht during
\nlocal trading hours, driven largely by exporters selling dollars
\nand offshore buying of them.<\/p>\n
Against the rupiah, the dollar was quoted at Rp 8,442 near the
\nend of Asian trading, little changed from Rp 8,440 at its close
\non Monday.<\/p>\n
Traders said underlying sentiment for the rupiah remains
\npositive ahead of the initial public offering of a 36 percent
\nstake in Bank Rakyat Indonesia later this month.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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