Asia monies mixed late, rupiah higher

Asia monies mixed late, rupiah higher

Dow Jones, Singapore

Asian currencies were mixed in lackluster trade Tuesday as yen weakness weighed on selected currencies.

Declines in the Singapore dollar, Thai baht and South Korean won were all pinned on the slumping yen. The New Taiwan dollar closed lower after the central bank intervened in the closing minutes of trading to prop up the U.S. dollar.

The Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah edged higher.

The yen stumbled against both the U.S. dollar and euro during Asian hours, despite a modest rebound in Tokyo stocks after four sessions of heavy losses.

Near the end of Asian trading the U.S. dollar was quoted at 124.54 yen, up from 124.37 yen late Monday in New York. The euro was quoted at 117.87 yen, up from 117.41 yen in New York.

The won was pressured by the falling yen and U.S. dollar demand from foreign investors. Movements in the yen often influence the won because Japan and Korea compete in many of the same export markets.

The U.S. dollar closed at 1,234.0 won, up from 1,230.1 won Monday.

Some U.S. dollar buying by foreigners was related to the settlement of a deal between two Korean investment companies. Shinhan Financial agreed in April to buy a 30 percent stake in Good Morning Securities for 388 billion won. Although both are Korean firms, foreign investors controlled the 30 percent stake that was sold. The investors received won in the transaction and converted the proceeds to U.S. dollars.

The Singapore dollar suffered from the weaker yen and U.S. dollar short covering.

However, the Singapore currency was thinly traded and partially recovered from its intraday lows once an early spurt of U.S. dollar buying by local banks subsided.

Near the end of Asian trading the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7909, up from S$1.7883 late Monday.

The New Taiwan dollar wasn't very actively traded for most of the session, but the central bank still bought a significant amount of U.S. dollars to show it is serious about keeping the local currency's appreciation under control, dealers said.

The U.S. dollar closed at NT$34.117, up from NT$34.101 Monday.

Trading volume totaled US$473 million, with the central bank accounting for more than half of that in the final 15 minutes of trade. The U.S. dollar had been trading at NT$34.099 before the intervention.

Banks including Chinatrust and Citibank chimed in with their offers of U.S. dollars as the central bank accommodated on the bid side, a dealer at a foreign bank said.

The rupiah gained in thin trade as foreign investors bought the currency to settle stock purchases from last week.

Late in Asia the U.S. dollar was quoted at Rp 8,655, down from Rp 8,690 late Monday.

The peso benefited from subdued corporate demand for the U.S. currency and some banks' unwinding of long positions, traders said. The U.S. dollar ended at 50.15 pesos on the Philippine Dealing System, down from its close of 50.25 pesos Monday.

Traders said corporations appear to be holding their U.S. currency purchases, awaiting a further dip in the U.S. dollar below the 50 pesos mark.

The baht faced mild selling pressure associated with the weaker yen and U.S. dollar short covering.

Toward the end of Asian trading the U.S. dollar was quoted at 42.18 baht, compared with 42.17 baht late Monday.

The U.S. dollar traded between 42.15 baht, a 16-month low set Friday, and 42.20 baht.

Fears that the central bank would intervene in the market to prevent the baht from strengthening through the 42 baht-per U.S. dollar level also underpinned the U.S. currency.