Asian currencies recover against dollar

Asian currencies recover against dollar

SINGAPORE (AFP): Asian currencies recovered on Tuesday after
losing ground against the U.S. dollar following a fall in the
baht amid fears Thailand's bad loans problem was getting worse,
dealers said.

The regional currencies ended mixed when fortunes reversed
with the dollar sliding amid position-squaring by funds before
the new year and reports that Japanese houses might unload U.S.
Treasury bills to cover up positions at home.

The baht recovered to close at 36.80 against the dollar from
Mondays' close of 36.93.

Reports that Thailand might reduce interest rates to about
nine percent in 1999 from about 11 to 12 percent at present did
not have much impact on the currency, said Alison Seng, analyst
with U.S. research house Standard and Poor's MMS here.

"The rates were due to fall anyway due to benign inflation,"
she said.

The baht had earlier fallen to a low of 37.20 against the
dollar after the Thai central bank announced a day earlier that
commercial banks' bad debts had soared to 46 percent of total
lending, prompting warnings that restructuring in the crippled
sector was well behind schedule.

The yen ended higher Tuesday against the dollar to 115.35 from
New York's close of 116.07 and Singapore's close of 116.25 on
Monday.

The Taiwan dollar edged higher to 32.246 from 32.259 and the
Philippine peso to 39.090 from 39.145.

The Singapore dollar fell to 1.6597 from 1.6585 and the South
Korean won to 1,209.50 from 1,209.20.