Asian currencies mostly up late but Taiwan dollar flat

Asian currencies mostly up late but Taiwan dollar flat

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Most Asian currencies were up late
Tuesday on the back of a slight rise in the Japanese yen, dealers
said.

But the region's gains failed to rub off on the New Taiwan
dollar, which remained under pressure for most of the day, until
the central bank came to its defense toward the close, dealers
said.

The Indonesian rupiah ended slightly higher, but trading was
rangebound as investors wait to see if President Abdurrahman
Wahid can survive the current political crisis.

The dollar closed at Rp 11,430 Tuesday, little changed from
its close Monday at Rp 11,450

The U.S. currency moved in a very tight Rp 11,400 to Rp 11,460
range Tuesday as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines.

The New Taiwan dollar ended unchanged from Monday's 31-month
closing low of NT$33.456 against the U.S. currency.

Before the central bank had sold some US$50 million just
minutes before trading ended, the New Taiwan dollar was weaker at
NT$33.480, dealers said.

The central bank's Deputy Governor Hsu Yi-hsiung's comments
late Monday, that the New Taiwan dollar is undervalued and has
room to appreciate, kept a rein on the currency's earlier
decline, dealers said.

But, by not defending the New Taiwan dollar more aggressively
Tuesday, the central bank failed to douse speculation that the
government may tolerate a further depreciation of the currency to
revive the sluggish economy, dealers said.

A local newspaper report over the weekend citing the
influential private think-tank, the Taiwan Research Institute, as
suggesting the government should let the currency weaken to as
low as NT$40.000 to help stabilize the economy was the catalyst
behind the New Taiwan dollar's fall.

The stable yen and foreign equity fund inflows into the Seoul
exchange lifted the South Korean won, dealers said.

The dollar finished at 1,296.5 won, down from Monday's close
of 1,301.5 won

South Korea's gross domestic product growth slowed to 3.7
percent year-on-year during the first quarter of 2001, compared
with a 12.6 percent rise in the same period a year earlier, the
Bank of Korea said Tuesday.

Still, the first-quarter growth was slightly above economists'
consensus forecasts of 3.5 percent growth.

Late Tuesday, the Singapore dollar surrendered most of the
day's gains - which were fueled by the yen's earlier rise - as
the euro skidded to a new year-low of US$0.8700, dealers said.

After staying below S$1.8100 most of the day, the U.S. dollar
was quoted at S$1.8108 at 1030 GMT (5.30 p.m. Jakarta time),
compared with S$1.8113 late Monday.

But lingering fears of intervention by the Monetary Authority
of Singapore will keep a rein on the local currency's decline,
dealers said.

The Thai and Philippine currencies found mild respite from the
steady undertone in many of the regional foreign exchange
markets, dealers said.

The dollar was at 45.605 baht, slightly lower than 45.630 baht
late Monday.

On the Philippine Dealing System, the dollar closed at 50.645
pesos, down from 50.840 pesos Monday.