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.