Asian currencies :

Asian currencies :
Mostly Lower Late

DOW JONES
Singapore

Asian currencies retreated Tuesday as investor concerns over
weakening economic fundamentals in the region triggered a new
round of dollar buying.

Efforts by Japan's Ministry of Finance to weaken the yen also
helped provide a base for the dollar against Asian currencies.

However, analysts cautioned that the dollar remains vulnerable
in the face of the deteriorating U.S. economy, and that the yen
strength will persist as the repatriation of Japanese assets
continues amid uncertainty over how the U.S. will respond to the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

In trading Tuesday, the Singapore dollar fell to a near seven-
week low against the U.S. currency.

Other regional currencies except for the New Taiwan dollar
also tumbled.

"The resilience of the U.S. dollar in Asia amidst yen strength
in starting to attract the attention of the market," DBS Bank
said in a note to clients.

Concerns that the languishing U.S. economy would provide
further damage to export-dependent Asian countries also has been
a "key argument" for central banks in the region to weaken their
currencies to make their exports more competitive, DBS said.

The acquisition of foreign companies by Singaporean firms,
such as Singapore Telecommunications Ltd's takeover of
Australia's Cable & Wireless Optus, has resulted in capital
outflows that have put additional pressure on the Singapore
dollar.

The U.S. dollar hit an intraday high of S$1.7730 in intraday
trade Tuesday, its highest level since S$1.7791 on Aug. 9. The
U.S. dollar gave up some of its gains late in the session but
still managed to end the Asian trading day at S$1.7696, up from
S$1.7556 late Monday.

The underlying trend for the U.S. dollar remains higher, UBS
Warburg said in a research report.

The New Taiwan dollar closed slightly higher as U.S. dollar
sales from exporters offset mild U.S. dollar demand from foreign
institutional investors, dealers said.

The U.S. dollar closed at NT$34.574, up from NT$34.578 a day
earlier.

The dollar closed at 1,308.7 won, up from Monday's close of
KRW1,307.20.

Earlier in the day the dollar had fallen as low as KRW1,304.7
as local stocks moved higher, boosting sentiment for the won.