Asian currencies end mixed as yen swings up
Asian currencies end mixed as yen swings up
SINGAPORE (AFP): Asian currencies ended mixed on Friday as the Japanese yen traded erratically, with the Indonesian rupiah rebounding on profit-taking ahead of a weekend announcement on bank restructuring.
The rupiah closed around 9,150 per dollar, from a low of 9,600, after dropping sharply the previous day to 9,450 amid political uncertainty in Jakarta in the run-up to the June general elections.
There was some profit-taking by U.S. and Indonesian players after Thursday's sharp dollar rise, said a chief dealer with a European bank in Singapore.
He said there were also rumors that owners of Indonesian banks were selling dollars ahead of an expected announcement Saturday in Jakarta regarding which local banks will be allowed to recapitalize, and which will be liquidated.
"The owners have to raise cash for them to be included in the banks that will be allowed to operate," the dealer added.
During the day the yen traded wildly, hitting a low of 120.45 per dollar, as players assumed that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) would further ease monetary policy. Many were caught by surprise when the BoJ left the discount rate of 0.5 percent untouched.
The yen closed trading here around 119.95, still down from 119.17 yen in New York late Thursday.
The BoJ's policy board said it would continue to hold down short-term interest rates, which have fallen effectively to zero in recent weeks.
The Singapore dollar rebounded to 1.7335 per U.S. dollar from 1.7350 the day before. The Thai baht slightly rose to 37.35 from 37.55, and the Taiwan dollar to 33.112 from 33.114, after earlier trading lower.
The baht strengthened after Thailand's Senate on Friday approved the passage of new foreclosure legislation regarded as crucial to healing the shattered economy. A bankruptcy bill was also being debated.
The South Korean won was unchanged at 1,233 per dollar, while the Philippine peso eased slightly to 38.97 from 38.905.
The Taiwan dollar rose slightly against the greenback Friday amid central bank intervention toward the end of the session, dealers said.
The currency closed at 33.112, after trading between 33.180 and 32.950.
In London, the euro lost newly gained ground early Friday in London as investors brushed aside some of the recovery prompted by the resignation of controversial German finance minister Oskar Lafontaine.
The euro traded at 1.0934 dollars in mid-morning, compared to 1.0982 in opening trading in London and a high of 1.1040 dollars late in New York overnight.
Although back under the 1.10 dollar level, the euro remained higher than the 1.0817 dollars it traded at in London on Thursday before Lafontaine's resignation.
The departure of Lafontaine, disliked by the markets for his socialist policies and tussles with the European Central Bank over the euro, had given a needed boost to the single currency, outweighing the dollar-strengthening effect of the latest healthy U.S. retail sales figures.
The dollar was also lifted by the record close of Wall Street, where the Dow Jones index rose 1.27 percent.
The euro traded at 1.0934 dollars (1.0817), 130.98 yen (130), 0.6712 pounds (0.6652), 1.5989 Swiss francs (1.5950). The dollar traded at 119.80 yen (120.15) and 1.4631 Swiss francs (1.4733). The pound traded at 1.6359 dollars (1.6259), and 195.98 yen (195.45), 2.3931 Swiss francs (2.3976). The spot gold price was 293.60 dollars (293.05) an ounce.