Asian monies mixed late, economic prospects improve
Asian monies mixed late, economic prospects improve
Dow Jones, Singapore
Improving economic prospects for many Asian countries
as well as a sharp jump in the yen helped set a firmer tone for
the region's currencies Monday.
Continued stock market inflows provided an additional boost
for the Korean won and New Taiwan dollar, traders said.
The Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah also gained on the
U.S. currency, while the Singapore dollar and Thai baht were
little changed.
The U.S. dollar fell more than one yen against during the
Asian trading day, ending the session around 133.70 yen, down
from 134.80 yen late Friday.
However, the dismal outlook for the Japanese economy is likely
to keep the yen under pressure in the medium term, traders added.
The won finished stronger for a fourth consecutive session as
foreign investors sold dollars Monday to settle recent stock
purchases.
The dollar closed Monday at 1,321.3 won, down from Friday's
finish at 1,327.6 won.
Having been strong sellers of Asian equities for most of
January, foreign investors turned strong buyers of shares around
the region toward the end of last week.
The move reflects better sentiment regarding the U.S. economic
recovery and expectations that Asian economies will outperform
once the global recovery gathers strength, said Mansoor Mohi-
uddin, currency strategist at UBS Warburg.
The Taiwan dollar finished stronger for the third straight
session, although it couldn't match the won's gains.
The U.S. dollar ended at NT$35.015, down from Friday's close
of NT$35.057.
The Philippine peso tracked the yen higher amid relatively thin
corporate demand for U.S. dollars.
The dollar closed at its intraday low of 51.240 pesos on the
Philippine Dealing System, down from 51.295 pesos Friday.
"The peso continues to benefit from optimism about the
prospects for the economy in the new year and a pick-up in
foreign investment inflows into the local stock markets," said
Bank of America in a currency strategy report.
Sentiment toward the Indonesian rupiah was helped by increasing
market optimism that the government will soon complete the sale
of its 51 percent stake in nationalized Bank Central Asia.
Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted at Rp 10,400, down from Rp
10,435 Friday.
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency is expected to name
later Monday the final bidders for the government's stake in the
country's largest listed bank.
The U.K.-based Standard Chartered is expected to be one of the
final bidders.
The Singapore dollar was steady after a choppy trading session
when its movements were largely dictated by the yen, dealers
said.
Near the end of Asian trading, the U.S. dollar was quoted at
S$1.8362, little changed from S$1.8361 late Friday.
Against the Thai baht, the dollar was quoted at 44.110 bath,
compared with 44.100 bath late Friday.
The dollar was kept in a tight trading range against the baht,
with fears of central bank intervention underpinning the U.S.
currency, and exporter sales and a liquidity squeeze in the
offshore swap market capping the dollar's strength, Bank of
America said.