Asian currencies mostly weaker; except peso
Asian currencies mostly weaker; except peso
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Asian currencies were mostly softer Tuesday as the dollar garnered regional support from its strength against the yen.
The only regional currency to gain versus the dollar was the Philippine peso, which edged higher on seasonal remittance inflows from Filipino workers abroad.
The Indonesian rupiah experienced the biggest price swing, ending an abbreviated rally that began Monday and extended into early trading Tuesday.
The rupiah opened stronger as sentiment toward the currency was buoyed by a government order Monday requiring state-owned companies to buy dollars directly from the central bank and not in the open market.
After falling to an intraday low of Rp 9,150, the dollar closed at Rp 9,510 in Asia, up from its close Monday at Rp 9,430.
Dealers said local companies snapped up the dollar, which fell to an intraday low early in the session due to selloffs by offshore participants.
"Offshore participants reacted positively to Rizal's order to state companies," said a dealer with a local bank. "But, the dollar's sharp fall provided opportunities for dollar-hungry local companies to buy the unit."
As reported late Monday, Senior Economic Minister Rizal Ramli told state-owned companies, including oil company Pertamina, to buy the dollar directly from the central bank if they need to pay for imports or repay offshore debts, rather than purchase dollars from the open market. This was to ease the pressure on the local unit.
To follow up on Rizal's instruction, Pertamina and Bank Indonesia held a meeting Tuesday afternoon but they declined to comment on the results of the meeting.
In the currency market, dealers detected only a small amount of dollar selling by Bank Indonesia, which consequently failed to defend the rupiah.
The dollar's rise against the yen weighed on the New Taiwan dollar, which ended at a 20-month low Tuesday.
At the end of Asian trading the U.S. dollar was quoted at NT$33.088, up from the previous close of NT$33.035. It was the U.S. dollar's strongest performance since NT$33.095 on April 9, 1999.
Against the yen, the dollar broke through the Y110 level after market players bought the U.S. currency in anticipation that a survey of business sentiment due out Wednesday will reflect a slowdown in Japan's economic recovery.
The South Korean won lost ground against the dollar after an overnight rally on Wall Street failed to lift the local stock market.
The dollar closed Tuesday at 1,190.1 won, up from Monday's close of 1,183 won.
The Singapore dollar gave up gains amid U.S. dollar buying by local companies in a fairly thin market, dealers said. The Singapore currency also tracked the Indonesian rupiah lower. Late in Asian trading the dollar was quoted at S$1.7347, up from S$1.7338 late Monday.
The Philippine peso rose in extremely thin trading, buoyed by inflows from Filipinos working overseas and light demand for dollars.
The dollar closed at 49.850 pesos on the Philippine Dealing System, down from 49.945 pesos at the previous close.
The Thai baht ended a listless trading session slightly lower as most investors remained on the sidelines following a holiday Monday.
Late in Asia the dollar was quoted at 43.520 baht, up from 43.515 baht in offshore trading late Monday.