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.