Asian currencies mostly fall, rupiah rises

Asian currencies mostly fall, rupiah rises

TOKYO (Dow Jones):Asian currencies were mostly weaker in Asia Tuesday, led by a slide in the won due to fears of a major corporate bankruptcy in South Korea and a plunge in the Thai baht amid large-lot selling by overseas speculators.

The Indonesian currency regained ground late trade, after failure to push it below the psychologically sensitive level of Rp 9,500 against the dollar triggered profit-taking, dealers said.

The rupiah also found support from a favorable report on President Abdurrahman Wahid's health following a routine heart checkup Tuesday and a decree by his deputy, Megawati Sukarnoputri, ordering members of her party not to join mounting efforts to oust the president, dealers said.

Fears of further intervention dragged the dollar below Rp 9,370 to 9,330 support in late trading, after Senior Economics Minister Rizal Ramli said Bank Indonesia will likely spend this week more than the estimated S$10 million it sold last week to defend the flagging rupiah, dealers said.

Around 0920 GMT, the dollar was at Rp 9,330, down from around Rp 9,400 late Monday and Tuesday's intraday high of around Rp 9,505.

Dealers said retail participants and exporters in Jakarta were selling dollars, prompting offshore players to lock in profits in their dollar positions.

In Seoul, the won fell against the dollar after news that one of the nation's blue-chip companies, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., had defaulted on 16.1 billion won in commercial bills Monday. Some in the market cited concerns that Hyundai Engineering's default could be the prelude to a bankruptcy of the Hyundai group itself.

In late Tuesday trading in Asia, the U.S. dollar was last quoted at 1139.70 won, up from 1,137.50 won on Monday.

In Bangkok, the baht weakened mostly due to heavy speculative selling by overseas players in Asia amid thin markets, analysts said. The dollar topped out at 44.10 baht before the baht regained some ground late in the session on profit taking.

Late Tuesday in Asia, the U.S. dollar was quoted at 43.885 baht, up from 43.745 baht Monday.

In Taipei, the dollar ended slightly lower against its Taiwanese counterpart after rising as high NT$32.420 early in the session as the brewing political uncertainty continued to cast a chill on local financial markets.

Late in Asia Tuesday, the dollar was quoted at NT$32.356, down marginally from NT$32.358 Monday.

Meantime, the Singapore dollar drifted lower against the U.S. dollar in line with most of the other Asian currencies as it was pressured by the dollar's strength for most of the session. Late Tuesday in Asia, the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7563, up from S$1.7547 Monday.

In Manila, the Philippine peso finished 2 percent higher against the U.S. dollar ahead of a two-day holiday, boosted by central bank intervention and dollar profit-taking, after falling to a new all-time low early in the session. dealers said.

The Philippines' central bank reportedly sold around US$10 million worth of dollars for pesos before the closing of the shortened session, to take advantage of the dollar's downward trend that was sparked by profit-taking, dealers said.

Late in Asia Tuesday, the dollar closed at 51.000 peso on the Philippine Dealing System, down from 51.480 peso at the previous close.