Asian monies mostly down, rupiah flounders
Asian monies mostly down, rupiah flounders
Dow Jones, Singapore
Asian currencies wobbled in thin trading late Thursday, as the
U.S. dollar found some respite from a smaller-than-expected
contraction in the U.S. economy in the third quarter, dealers
said.
The U.S. economy shrank at an annualized rate of 0.4 percent
during the July-September period; economists had forecast a
contraction of 1 percent. It was the first time since 1993 that
the U.S. has experienced a quarterly economic contraction.
Trading volume in Asia's foreign exchange markets was thin, as
activity started to show signs of slowing ahead of the year end,
said a dealer a European bank.
As the honeymoon for Indonesian President Megawati
Soekarnoputri came to an end, the local currency briefly
floundered past Rp 10,600 per U.S. dollar earlier in the day, its
weakest level since the leader took office on July 23.
Just over 100 days into her rule, Megawati admitted Thursday
in her address to the People's Consultative Assembly - the
country's highest legislative body - that her government has
achieved little since it was formed.
She also said the government's ability to repay its debt "has
come close to a dangerous point."
At 0940 GMT (3:40 p.m. Jakarta time), the rupiah had regained
some of its footing to trade at Rp 10,545, after sliding to as
low as Rp 10,640 earlier.
The rupiah's fall added to the pressure on the Singapore
dollar, which already hurting from the market's renewed appetite
for the U.S. currency, dealers said.
Some dealers also blamed the Singapore dollar's weakness on
market talk that Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. may have
bought U.S. dollars to pay for its US$601 million purchase of a
22.3 percent stake in Indonesia's Telkomsel from Dutch
telecommunications company Royal KPN.
Around 1000 GMT (5 p.m. Jakarta time), the U.S. dollar was
quoted at S$1.8272, higher than S$1.8166 late Wednesday.
Some dealers suspected the Monetary Authority of Singapore had
intervened late Wednesday to curb the appreciation of the local
currency, helping set the firmer tone for the U.S. dollar
Thursday.
Pressured by the regional currency slump, the Thai unit
weakened to 44.705 baht per U.S. dollar, compared with 44.685
baht late Wednesday.
In Seoul, U.S. dollar demand by offshore participants sparked
short-covering in the U.S. currency, weighing on the South Korean
won, dealers said.
The U.S. dollar finished at 1,298.0 won, up from 1,296.10 won
Wednesday.
The New Taiwan dollar closed steady amid lackluster trading,
with the central bank slowing down in its intervention, dealers
said.
The U.S. dollar ended at NT$34.529, little changed from
Wednesday's close of NT$34.525.
Philippine markets were closed Thursday for a long religious
holiday, and will re-open Monday.