Asian currencies mixed, rupiah falls slightly

Asian currencies mixed, rupiah falls slightly

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The South Korean won and the Philippine
peso were battered late Monday on a host of domestic concerns,
shrugging off the impact of a stronger yen's earlier in the day
which helped buoy other regional currencies, dealers said.

The Indonesian rupiah closed slightly higher Monday but gave
up some of its gains earlier in the session as fresh dollar
buyers emerged following the rupiah's recovery since last week.

After falling to an intraday low of Rp 8,270, the dollar
closed at Rp 8,315 Monday, down slightly from Rp 8,330 late
Friday in Asia.

Offshore participants sold the dollar earlier in the day, but
they bought it back as bids from local companies emerged when the
dollar fell below Rp 8,300.

"The dollar fell to an intraday low of Rp 8,270, which was a
good buy level," said a dealer with a foreign bank in Jakarta."In
fact, any level below Rp 8,300 is a buy level for now."

Persistent jitters over the health of South Korea's financial
sector and a 5.4 percent plunge in the local stock market dragged
the won to a 12-week low against its U.S. counterpart, traders
said.

The dollar finished at 1,130.60 won, up sharply from Friday's
close at 1,122.70 won, and its highest close versus the won since
Feb. 29, when it ended at 1,131 won.

In the Philippines, a bomb blast Sunday in the country's
largest shopping mall fueled speculative demand for U.S. dollars,
dragging the peso to a fresh 19-month low, traders said.

The dollar closed at 41.915 pesos on the Philippine Dealing
System, up from Friday's close at 41.670 pesos.

The dollar rose to a fresh 19-month high of 41.920 pesos, its
highest level since 42.120 pesos on Oct. 26, 1998.

The Singapore dollar and the Thai baht relinquished some of
their intraday gains after regional stock markets slumped
following the U.S. stock market's losses Friday, traders said.

The early strength of the Japanese yen, which had bolstered
these currencies, crumbled as the Tokyo stock market fell
sharply.

Liquidation of long U.S. dollar positions, built up over the
past few weeks in anticipation of an aggressive U.S. rate hike,
also helped bolster the baht, rupiah and the Singapore dollar.

Against the Singapore currency, the U.S. dollar was quoted at
S$1.7277 in late trading, down from S$1.7285 late Friday, but up
from its intraday low of S$1.7248.

In Thailand, the dollar was quoted at 38.965 baht, down from
39.135 baht late Friday.

The New Taiwan dollar closed slightly weaker despite central
bank support, on disappointment the island's new president, Chen
Shui-bian, failed to break the impasse with China in his
inaugural speech Saturday, traders said.

The dollar finished higher at NT$30.709, compared with
Saturday's close at NT$30.695.