Asian monies gain ground on yen's surge

Asian monies gain ground on yen's surge

HONG KONG (Dow Jones): The dollar's tumble against the yen dragged the U.S. currency lower against Asian regional currencies during local trading hours on Wednesday.

In Southeast Asia, the dollar weakened against the Singapore dollar and dropped sharply against the Indonesian rupiah. Heavy sales of the U.S. currency were also seen against the Thai baht, despite the closure of markets in Bangkok for a holiday.

Heavy U.S. dollar sales against the Thai baht were also noted Wednesday, even though the onshore market in Bangkok was closed for a holiday. In the offshore market in Singapore, the U.S. dollar was pushed lower to end Asian trading at 37.12 baht, down from 37.24 baht the previous day.

A round of position-covering pushed the U.S. dollar sharply lower against the rupiah. After offers at Rp 7,050, which market participants believe to have been placed by Bank Indonesia, successfully arrested the U.S. dollar's recent appreciation against the rupiah.

Toward the end of Asian trading, the U.S. currency had fallen back to Rp 6,870, down from Rp 6,970 the day before.

Against the Philippine peso, the U.S. dollar weakened moderately to close at 38.240 peso, down from 38.250 peso at the end of Tuesday's session.

In North Asia, the U.S. dollar's general weakness helped lift the Korean won further from the two-month low it hit Monday.

At the local close, the U.S. dollar was quoted at 1,198.70 won, down from 1,203.10 won at the end of Tuesday's trading session.

At Wednesday's close, the U.S. dollar was at NT$32.242, down from NT$32.265 the previous day.