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.