Asian monies mixed against U.S. dollar
Asian monies mixed against U.S. dollar
Alan Yonnan, Dow Jones, Singapore
Asian currencies were mixed in listless trading Friday as market
players refrained from staking out large positions ahead of a
long holiday weekend in the U.S.
The Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah crept higher against the
dollar, while the New Taiwan dollar and Philippine peso weakened.
The South Korean won and Singapore dollar were virtually
unchanged.
The yen, which often helps set the tone in regional currency
markets, was of little help as it struggled to establish a clear
direction following the release of mixed economic data in Japan.
The New Taiwan dollar was the biggest mover, hit by continuing
outflows of foreign funds from the local stock market.
The U.S. dollar closed at NT$34.247, compared with NT$34.193
at Thursday's finish.
Volume was a thin US$325 million, with many participants
sidelined ahead of the long weekend. Markets in the U.S. will be
closed Monday in observance of Labor Day.
Sales of shares by foreign investors contributed to a 0.7
percent decline in the Taiwan Stock Exchange's main index. The
index was down 4 percent for the week.
Pressure on the Taiwan currency is likely to persist in the
near term due to weakness in the information technology sector,
the country's weak banking system, and cross straits tensions
with China, according to Claudio Piron, currency strategist at
Standard Chartered Bank.
The bank is forecasting the U.S. dollar to edge up to
NT$34.420 over the next month.
The peso faced mild selling pressure as corporations bought
dollars to cover month-end foreign debt requirements and banks
covered their short positions in the U.S. currency.
The dollar's decline against the peso over the previous four
sessions made it an attractive buy, traders said.
The dollar closed at 51.840 pesos on the Philippine Dealing
System, up from 51.760 pesos late Thursday. Trading volume was a
scant $139 million.
The rupiah got some help from dollar selling by a government
agency.
Traders said the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, or
IBRA, was in the market selling dollars it has received as
proceeds from its asset sales.
Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted at Rp 8,840, down from Rp
8,875 late Thursday.
IBRA aims to sell a total of Rp 43 trillion worth of assets
this year to help plug the deficit in the state budget, which is
expected to run at 2.5 percent of the nation's gross domestic
product.
Against the baht, the dollar was quoted at 42.000 bath,
compared with 42.230 bath late Thursday.
A government report earlier Friday showing that Thailand's
trade balance swung to a deficit in July had little impact on
trading.
Imports rose 11.1 percent and exports climbed just 7.7 percent
from a year earlier, producing a trade larger-than-expected trade
gap of $185 million.
The won was little changed for the second straight session.
The dollar ended at 1,201.9 won, compared with Thursday's
finish of 1,201.5 won.
Dollar demand came mainly from foreign investors, who unloaded
local stocks for the fifth straight session.
Against the Singapore dollar the U.S. dollar was quoted at
S$1.7487 in late Asian trade, compared with S$1.7485 late
Thursday.
Faced with a lack of fresh domestic leads, market players
mainly took their cue from the broader U.S. dollar trend against
its other regional counterparts.