Asian currencies mixed in late trade, rupiah retreats
Asian currencies mixed in late trade, rupiah retreats
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Asian currencies turned in a mixed
performance Friday, splitting generally along a north-south
divide.
To the north, the South Korean won and New Taiwan dollar had
another rough session, both falling to close to two-year lows as
a result of slumping stock prices and ongoing concerns about
slower economic growth.
In Southeast Asia the Singapore dollar, Thai baht and
Philippine peso all strengthened modestly, while the Indonesian
rupiah edged lower.
The Indonesian rupiah closed lower against the U.S. dollar
after some local banks snapped up the dollar amid thin trading
volume.
The dollar closed at Rp 9,365 in Asia, up from Rp 9,270 late
Thursday. The U.S. unit touched an intraday high of Rp 9,380
during the day.
Dealers said two local banks, namely Bank Bali (P.BBL) and
Bank Central Asia (P.PCA), actively bought the dollar and pushed
the U.S. currency higher.
"Those two banks were scrambling to buy the dollar as today
was the last chance for buying the dollar," said a dealer with a
foreign bank.
The north-south split that has emerged recently represents a
turnaround from earlier in the year when the North Asian
currencies dominated regional foreign exchange markets. The won
and the New Taiwan dollar had surged to post-crisis highs this
spring after market players concluded that those economies were
best positioned to take advantage of the global Internet boom.
But as U.S. economic growth has slowed - curbing the country's
hearty appetite for computer chips and other electronic equipment
- South Korea and Taiwan's technology-rich markets have faltered.
And the resulting slowdown in foreign capital inflows has
taken its toll on the local currencies.
The dollar closed at 1,237 won, up from 1,227.90 won at the
previous close and its strongest performance in more than 21
months. The won has lost 2.5 percent of its value this week and 8
percent since the start of the year.
Against the New Taiwan dollar, the U.S. currency closed at a
22-month high of NT$33.180, up from NT$33.172 Thursday.
The Singapore dollar continued its rally, hitting a 15-week
high against the U.S. dollar.
Market participants liquidated long U.S. dollar positions
against the Singapore currency in response to recent U.S. dollar
slippage against the euro, Australian dollar and New Zealand
dollar, said Peter Redward, currency strategist at Deutsche Bank
in Singapore.
"People are unwinding their long dollar positions and the
Singapore currency is seen as a safe haven because of the strong
economic fundamentals and large current account surplus," Redward
said.
Late in Asian trading the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7275,
down from S$1.7295 late Thursday. Dealers said the market was
reluctant to push the U.S. dollar much lower following suspected
intervention by the Monetary Authority of Singapore Thursday to
cap the Singapore dollar's appreciation at the S$1.7270 level.
The Thai baht continued to gain ground on the U.S. dollar,
buoyed by falling oil prices, a more stable stock market and in
anticipation of a narrowing interest rate differential between
Thailand and the U.S.
Late in Asia the dollar was quoted at 41.195 baht, down from
42.365 baht late Thursday. It was the baht's best performance
against the dollar since Oct. 2.
The Philippine peso was supported by what may be the last
tranche of remittance inflows from overseas workers in the run-up
to Christmas, traders said.
The dollar closed at its intraday low of 49.900 pesos on the
Philippine Dealing System, down from 50.045 pesos Thursday. The
dollar hit an intraday high of 50.105 pesos and averaged 50.024
pesos.