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.