Yen's rebound boosts SE Asian currencies<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Although a rebound in the Japanese yen
\nlent strength to most Southeast Asian currencies during regional
\ntrading hours on Tuesday, the Singapore dollar failed to benefit,
\nslumping to a fresh five-month low against the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
After the U.S. dollar broke above trendline resistance at
\nS$1.7180 in early trading, a brief flurry of stop-loss buying
\npushed the U.S. currency as high as S$1.7225, its highest level
\nsince Sept. 23.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Asia, the yen's recovery from Monday's lows,
\nwhich saw the U.S. dollar dip briefly below Y120, down from its
\nhigh of Y122.55 on Monday, provided a powerful shot in the arm
\nfor regional currencies. Boosted by the rising yen, the Thai
\nbaht, Philippine peso, new Taiwan dollar and South Korean won all
\nended the day higher.<\/p>\n
But although the relative strength of the yen was a major
\nfactor influencing Asian markets Tuesday, analysts and traders
\nwere reluctant to attribute each and every price swing to a move
\nin the U.S. dollar\/yen exchange rate.<\/p>\n
\"Clearly there is a yen effect, but one can't say these
\ncurrencies are moving 100% because of the yen,\" said Ron Leven,
\nforeign exchange strategist at J.P. Morgan in Singapore.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar's decoupling from the yen was most
\nobvious, as traders and investors continued to sell the currency
\nin reaction to the weekend's trade figures, which showed an
\nunexpectedly steep 6.4 percent decline in the country's non-oil
\ndomestic exports for January.<\/p>\n
\"The Singapore dollar is marching to the same drum it has been
\nmarching to since last October: a trend weakening,\" declared
\nAndrew Fung, a Singapore-based treasury economist at Standard
\nChartered Bank.<\/p>\n
Late in Asia on Tuesday, the U.S. currency was quoted at
\nS$1.7192, down slightly from its earlier intraday high, but still
\nsignificantly above S$1.7147 late in Asian trading the previous
\nday.<\/p>\n
Although the baht ended Tuesday's session in Asia higher
\nagainst the U.S. dollar, in line with the stronger yen, traders
\nsaid the Thai currency, like the Singapore dollar, was propelled
\nlargely by its own dynamic, and not solely by trading in the
\nJapanese currency.<\/p>\n
Market players, they said, were taking advantage of short-term
\nimplied yields as high as 22 percent to buy into the currency via
\nthe forward market after the U.S. dollar failed to break upward
\nthrough resistance at 38 baht.<\/p>\n
Toward the end of Asian dealing, the U.S. dollar was quoted at
\n37.5150 baht, down from 37.7250 baht late the previous day.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar also slipped against the Philippine peso.
\nAlthough much of the U.S. currency's fall was attributable to its
\nsoftness against the yen, the peso was also bolstered by the
\nmarket's underlying bullishness on the Philippine economy.<\/p>\n
\"All it needs is one good story for investors to turn around
\nand buy the peso,\" said Fung at Standard Chartered. \"Although
\ninflation has been higher than analysts had forecast, the market
\nappears willing to give President (Joseph) Estrada's
\nadministration the benefit of the doubt when it comes to economic
\npolicy.\"<\/p>\n
By the close of domestic trading, the U.S. dollar had slipped
\nto 38.99 pesos from 39.260 pesos at Monday's close.<\/p>\n
Against the Indonesian rupiah, the U.S. dollar dropped to end
\nthe Asian day at Rp 8,845, compared with Rp 8,905 the day before.<\/p>\n
In north Asia, the rise of new Taiwan dollar was assisted by
\ncentral bank intervention, with the authorities estimated by
\ntraders to have sold $200 million in support of the local
\ncurrency.<\/p>\n
At the close of the domestic session the U.S. dollar was
\nquoted at NT$33.028, down from NT$33.102 at the previous day's
\nfinish.<\/p>\n
In Seoul, in trading against the South Korean won, the U.S.
\ncurrency closed at 1,212.5 won, compared with 1,216.1 won the day
\nbefore.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/yens-rebound-boosts-se-asian-currencies-1447893297",
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