Asian currencies lower against dollar

Asian currencies lower against dollar

HONG KONG (Dow Jones): Most Asian currencies ended an unspectacular session Monday moderately lower against the U.S. dollar.

The South Korean won bucked the regional trend, however, finishing up against the U.S. currency as foreign investors continued to pump money into the Seoul stock market.

The Thai baht led other South East Asian currencies lower as market players attempted to capitalize on recent dollar strength by pushing the U.S. currency up in an effort to trip stop-loss buying orders and propel the dollar toward 38.500 baht.

The dollar's upward momentum proved insufficient to breach technical resistance at 38.150 baht, however, and in afternoon trade, the U.S. currency slipped back from its earlier high to end local dealing hours at 38.115 baht, up from 37.955 baht late Friday.

The weekend's elections to the upper house of the Thai parliament had little impact on market sentiment. More influential will be a court ruling, expected next week, on the restructuring of some $3.5 billion of debt owed by Thai Petrochemical Industry.

A decision perceived as negative to the company's creditor banks could have a severe impact on investor sentiment, warn dealers, potentially driving the baht to its lowest level in months.

The Singapore dollar followed the baht down, but again there was little impetus behind the move. Toward the end of Asian trading, the U.S. dollar was quoted against the Singapore currency at S$1.7252, up from S$1.7223 on Friday.

The Philippine peso also closed down, despite a rise in local Treasury bond yields, reflecting Friday's effective tightening of monetary policy when the central bank abolished its two-tier overnight borrowing rate.

The weaker baht, together with reports of pending debt repayments worth between 2.5 billion pesos and 3.0 billion pesos, weighed on the peso.

At the close, the dollar was quoted at 40.900 pesos, up from 40.880 pesos Friday.

The rupiah ended Asian trading a fraction weaker, but still within its recent well-worn range. Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted against the Indonesian currency at Rp 7,447, compared with Rp 7,772 on Friday. Dealers expect the dollar to continue to trade in a band between Rp 7,340 and Rp 7,500.

In North Asia, the new Taiwan dollar ended lower as investors trimmed their positions, fearful of heightened tensions with China ahead of Taiwan's presidential elections on March 18.

The local currency's fall was only mild, however, with market participants expecting the Taiwanese central bank to cap the U.S. dollar at NT$30.800.

At the close, the U.S. dollar was at NT$30.764, up from NT$30.743 at Saturday's close.

In Seoul, the won strengthened, as investors' enthusiasm for South Korean equities burned undimmed.

After purchasing 1.82 trillion won of Korean stocks last week, foreign investors bought a further 256 billion won worth on Monday, lifting the local currency and prompting dollar purchases from state-run banks.

At the local close, the U.S. dollar was at 1,119.20 won, down from 1,121.40 won Friday.