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.