Asian currencies mostly down late as yen rally fizzles out
Asian currencies mostly down late as yen rally fizzles out
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Most Asian currencies lost ground late Friday as the yen failed to sustain its recent rally.
Fears of testing the resolve of Asian central banks, however, cushioned the blow on the currencies, especially the Singapore dollar, dealers said.
But in the case of Taiwan, the local currency's losses, due to speculative selling, prompted the central bank to enter the market to push the U.S. dollar back below NT$33.500, dealers said.
The Indonesian rupiah held its own as the market grappled for direction, amid confusion over domestic political developments, dealers said.
President Abdurrahman Wahid said Friday that he is ready to make a political compromise with parliament to end the country's leadership crisis, but refused to surrender more power to his popular deputy Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Later in the day, Megawati walked out of a cabinet meeting after a brief attendance without offering any explanation.
The dollar closed at Rp 11,450, up slightly from Rp 11,430 Wednesday. Trading was closed Thursday, a public holiday in Indonesia.
Dealers said the market will be closely watching political developments over the weekend.
If something major happens, dealers expect the dollar to trade between Rp 11,400 and Rp 11,475 Monday.
The New Taiwan dollar ended at a fresh 32-month closing low against the U.S. dollar, but was off its intraday low of NT$33.699 after the local central bank came to its defense.
U.S. dollar sales by the central bank accounted for about half of the US$101 million in volume during the last quarter hour of trading, dealers said.
The U.S. dollar ended at NT$33.495, up from NT$33.458 Thursday. Total trading volume amounted to US$586 million.
Concerns that Taiwan's economic growth in the first quarter could come in below analysts' consensus forecast of 2.6 percent weighed on the local currency, dealers said.
Worries over the extent of Taiwan's economic slowdown were fueled by a local media report which said that preliminary statistics compiled by the government showed that economic growth came in below 2 percent during the first quarter, its slowest quarterly growth in 26 years.
Indeed after trading ended Friday, the government confirmed the market's fears. It announced a much lower-than-expected gross domestic product growth of 1.1 percent in the first quarter, while slashing the full-year forecast to 4.02 percent from 5.25 percent.
The Singapore dollar resumed its recent downtrend on the yen's weakness and corporate demand for the U.S. currency, dealers said.
But the market turned skittish when the Singapore dollar fell to around S$1.8080, as the threat of intervention by the Monetary Authority of Singapore loomed, dealers said.
"I don't see it breaking S$1.8080," said a dealer at a European bank.
At 0930 GMT (4.30 p.m. Jakarta time), the U.S. dollar was at S$1.8061, up from S$1.8033 late Thursday.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar was quoted at Y120.54, above Y119.80 late Thursday in New York.
In Seoul, the dollar finished at 1,288.9 won, up from Thursday's close of 1,285.0 won.
On the Philippine Dealing System, the dollar closed at 50.505 pesos, up from 50.340 pesos Thursday.
The Thai currency slipped to 45.530 baht per dollar, from 45.435 baht late Thursday.