Asian currencies mixed late, new Estrada charges hit peso
Asian currencies mixed late, new Estrada charges hit peso
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Asian currencies were mixed Friday, with the Philippine peso suffering from a new flurry of corruption allegations against President Joseph Estrada.
The New Taiwan dollar rose for the eighth straight session. The Singapore dollar and Indonesian rupiah also edged higher, while the South Korean won and Thai baht lost ground.
The Indonesian rupiah strengthened on dollar sales by state banks believed to be acting on behalf of the central bank.
Persistent dollar bids from local corporations, however, limited the dollar's decline, dealers said.
The dollar closed at Rp 9,225 in Asia, down from its close Thursday at Rp 9,250.
Bank Indonesia's acting Governor Anwar Nasution said Friday the central bank would continue selling dollars to prop up the rupiah. He, however, didn't say whether the bank intervened in the market Friday.
Hopes that the ailing Philippine peso might build on gains made earlier in the week faded when Estrada found himself having to fend off fresh charges.
Estrada denied that he received a US$20 million kickback from the sale of the country's largest telephone company, and pocketed $16 million from a controversial stock sale.
The new allegations came on the heels of charges last month that Estrada accepted millions in dollars in payoffs from illegal gambling operators.
While Estrada for weeks steadfastly denied accepting any gambling money, he said Friday that a provincial governor did offer him the payoffs, which he said he refused. It is a criminal offense in the Philippines for a public official to fail to report a crime such as bribery.
Against the peso, the dollar closed at 50.200 pesos Friday, up from 49.950 pesos late Thursday. The peso had stabilized below the 50-per dollar level for most of the week on hopes that Estrada might resign.
However, Estrada reiterated Friday that he plans to finish the remaining four years of his term despite impeachment proceedings being brought against him by the House of Representatives.
UBS Warburg recommended its clients buy dollars below the 49 peso level "as Estrada's refusal to resign continues to weigh on the currency."
Also contributing to the peso's decline was talk that two large banks may be facing liquidity problems and have experienced heavy withdrawals.
In Taipei, the New Taiwan dollar benefited from exporter sales of U.S. dollars.
The U.S. currency ended at NT$32.062, the lowest closing level in more than two weeks and down from NT$32.065 Thursday.
Taiwan's central bank was spotted in the market in the morning buying U.S. dollars to slow the local dollar's rise, dealers said.
Importer buying of U.S. dollars helped push the South Korean won lower, dealers said.
The dollar finished at 1,134.40 won, up from Thursday's close of 1,132.10 won.
The dollar's advance surprised some dealers, who said they expected continued gains in the won as the pace of economic reforms in South Korea picks up.
Importer dollar buying also helped the U.S. currency gain on the Thai baht.
Late in Asia the dollar was quoted at 43.575 baht, up from 43.535 baht late Thursday.
Still, the baht is likely to find support against the dollar on foreign inflows for acquisitions of Thai companies, dealers said.
The U.S. dollar traded in a narrow range against the Singapore dollar, drifting lower late in the day on dollar-selling by U.S. investors and a UK bank, dealers said.
Late Friday in Asia the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7403, down from $1.7415 late Thursday.