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.