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.