Asian monies mixed late, Singapore dollar weaker

Asian monies mixed late, Singapore dollar weaker

Netty Ismail, Dow Jones, Singapore

Asian currencies were mixed late Tuesday, as participants
refrained from aggressively building up their long-dollar
positions with the U.S. currency's near-term direction still
cloudy, dealers said.

But reports that the Bank of Japan won't rule out buying
foreign assets late Tuesday pulled the rug from under the yen -
which was relatively stable earlier - and in turn weighed on the
Singapore dollar, the Thai baht and the South Korean won, dealers
said.

The Singapore dollar and the South Korean won were weaker. The
Thai baht was marginally firmer, even though it had relinquished
part of its earlier gains.

At 0914 GMT (4:14 p.m. Jakarta time), the dollar was quoted at
121.23 yen, above 121.06 yen late Monday in New York.

Already feeling the brunt of the yen's fall, U.S.-dollar
purchases by a large Singapore bank led some participants to
surmise that it was executed on behalf of the local monetary
authority, dealing another blow to the Singapore currency,
dealers said.

Market participants have been taking their cue from the local
bank, which had largely led the buying spree in the U.S. currency
last week, dealers said. The local bank had turned a seller of
the U.S. currency Monday.

Late Tuesday, the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.8179, higher
than S$1.8113 late Monday.

The baht continued to find support from the central bank
governor's remarks Tuesday that a weaker baht won't help
stimulate economic growth.

The dollar was at 44.585 baht, lower than 44.600 baht late
Monday.

The yen's slide past 121 yen to the dollar nudged the U.S.
currency above 1,300 won late in the day, dealers said.

The dollar ended at 1,300.9 won, up from Monday's close of
1,296.9. won.

Taiwan's central bank continued to maintain its tight grip on
the local currency, intervening to smooth any foreign exchange
volatility arising from demand for the U.S. currency by importers
and a 2.2 percent jump in local stocks, dealers said.

After having been wedged in a narrow range all day, the
Indonesian currency was little changed at 10,010 rupiah per
dollar amid fears of central bank intervention, compared with
last traded level of around 10,000 rupiah Friday. Indonesia's
financial markets were closed Monday for a holiday.