Asian currencies mixed late, beleaguered rupiah plunges
Asian currencies mixed late, beleaguered rupiah plunges
TOKYO (Dow Jones): The Indonesian rupiah took the spotlight away from the yen and other regional currencies in Asia on Friday as the embattled rupiah plunged through key support of Rp 10,000 against the dollar to its lowest level since early October 1998 at the height of the Asian financial crisis.
The New Taiwan dollar, the Philippine peso and the Singapore dollar also fell against the dollar, partly in sympathy with the rupiah. But, the Korean won and the Thai baht rose against the U.S. currency as the yen regained lost ground.
In Jakarta, Indonesia's ongoing political and social woes played havoc with the rupiah, pushing the dollar above the psychologically important Rp 10,000 level even as Bank Indonesia spent roughly $30 million to defend the beleaguered currency via direct intervention in the market.
In Taipei, the New Taiwan dollar weakened against the U.S. dollar on the decline in Taiwanese stock prices as foreign banks bought the U.S. currency on behalf of foreign equity investors who had sold local stocks, traders said.
The weighted price index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange ended down 30.59 points, or 0.54 percent, at 5680.43, mostly due to the 2.5 percent slide in the U.S. Nasdaq composite index late Thursday.
In late Asian trading on Friday, the U.S. dollar was quoted at NT$32.401, up from NT$32.381 Thursday.
In Manila, the Philippine peso was lower against the dollar as Philippine corporations bought the U.S. currency and the foreign exchange markets fully absorbed the impact of the central bank's cut in overnight rates Thursday, traders said.
Going forward, the peso is also likely to be pressured by lingering concerns about the Philippines government's seriousness in dealing with the nation's economic and financial challenges.
Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted at 48.065 pesos, up from Thursday's close of 47.910 pesos on the Philippine Dealing System.
In Singapore, the Singapore dollar dropped slightly against the U.S. dollar in anticipation that Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. could make a A$16 billion-plus bid for Australia's Cable & Wireless Optus Ltd. as early as this weekend.
SingTel's bid for Australia's Optus is expected to generate some selling of Singapore dollars for foreign currencies in order to complete the transaction, traders said.
Late in Asia Friday, the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7575, up from S$1.7566 late Thursday.
In Seoul, the Korean won bucked the general trend of Asian currency weakness, strengthening against the dollar on the yen's rebound and on sentiment that the local currency may have been oversold.
The dollar closed at 1,268.8 won, down from Thursday's close of 1,273.5 won.
The yen, meanwhile, recovered from its overnight losses, rising as high as Y119.15 against the dollar late Friday on Japanese investors' yen repatriation, dollar-long position unwinding, and comments from Japanese economy minister Taro Aso favoring a strong yen.
Late in Asia, the dollar was trading at Y119.62, nearly unchanged from Y119.65 late Thursday in New York.
In Bangkok, the Thai baht was higher against the dollar ahead of the Thailand government's expected announcement of details on its planned central asset management corporation.
Citing banking industry sources, the Nation newspaper reported earlier Friday that the CAMC will buy 200 billion baht of nonperforming loans from private-sector banks at book value, or around 160 billion baht.
Against the baht, the dollar was last quoted at 43.515 baht, down from 43.520 baht late Thursday.