Asian currencies mixed against dollar
Asian currencies mixed against dollar
SINGAPORE (AFP): Asian currencies ended mixed Wednesday against the U.S. dollar, which remained well bid with no immediate signs of an end to the war in Yugoslavia, dealers said.
"The overall outlook is still a firm dollar," said Christy Tan, analyst at Singapore-based financial consultancy IDEA.
The U.S. dollar was down in New York Tuesday against most major currencies after the Yugoslav announcement of a unilateral cease-fire, although NATO rejected it as "insufficient."
The greenback is regarded as a safe haven currency in times of crisis.
A European bank dealer here said the yen closed Asian trading lower at 120.85 against the U.S. dollar from the New York close of 120.60. It had ended at 121.40 in Singapore a day earlier. "We are seeing a tight range of 120.40 to 121.20," the dealer said.
The Singapore dollar closed lower at 1.7365 against the greenback from Tuesday's close of 1.7357 and the Taiwan dollar eased to 33.133 from 33.12.
The Thai baht rose to 37.75 against the dollar from 37.88, the Indonesian rupiah to 8,750 from 8,875 and the South Korean won to 1,222.5 from 1,225.
In London, the euro single currency fell against the dollar early on Wednesday, after the NATO military alliance had rejected ceasefire overtures from Belgrade and continued bombing of Yugoslavia.
The pound, meanwhile, recovered from its lowest level against the dollar for one and a half years.
The euro was being traded at 1.0784 dollars from 1.0814.
The dollar was being traded at 120.85 yen here from 121.05 yen earlier in Tokyo and 120.83 yen here late on Tuesday.
Sterling rose back to 1.5935 dollars from 1.5894 late on Tuesday.
The euro is likely to fall further against the dollar as the European Central Bank is predicted to trim back interest rates in the face of the economic slowdown in Germany and France.
A growing number of economists predicted that the Bank of England would reduce its own base rate by a quarter point to 5.25 percent after its monthly monetary policy meeting on Thursday.
The pound bounced back against the dollar from low points on Tuesday, in spite of the prospect of lower interest rates.
The dollar rose against the yen after Japan's vice finance minister Eisuke Sakakibara warned once again against strength of the Japanese unit.
The euro was being traded at 1.0784 dollars from 1.0814, 130.35 yen from 130.3, 0.6767 pounds from 0.6770 and 1.5953 Swiss francs (1.5960).
The dollar was being traded at 120.85 yen from 120.83 and 1.4795 Swiss francs from 1.4753.
Sterling was being traded at 1.5935 dollars (1.5894), 192.60 yen (191.79), 2.3580 Swiss francs (2.3473).