Asian monies mostly down, with baht at 9-month low

Asian monies mostly down, with baht at 9-month low

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Most Asian currencies were weaker late
Monday, with the Thai baht skidding to its lowest level in more
than nine months and casting a pall on most other Southeast Asian
currencies.

The rupiah was largely stable as the Indonesian currency took
a backseat following last week's roller-coaster ride when
President Abdurrahman Wahid refused to explain to Parliament the
reasons for the sacking of two ministers.

The Philippine peso and the Singapore dollar were also down
late Monday.

In North Asia, sharp losses on the local stock markets
hammered the South Korean won and the New Taiwan dollar.

The Thai baht was pushed to its weakest level since Oct. 1,
1999, partly due to a 3.6 percent slide in the key index on the
Thai stock market to below the psychologically-important 300
mark.

Around 0810 GMT, the dollar was at 40.805 baht, up from 40.315
baht in Asian trading last Friday.

Signaling that the central bank would likely stay on the
sidelines Monday, Thai Finance Minister Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda
said the baht's decline against the U.S. dollar Monday was in
line with weakness in the yen and other regional currencies.

The Singapore dollar succumbed to the baht's weakness, but
rapidly rebounded on suspected intervention late in the day by
the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which declined to comment as
expected.

The U.S. dollar clawed its way up to S$1.7515, its highest
level since Sept. 4, 1998, before provoking aggressive selling in
the U.S. currency by a local bank, which usually acts as an agent
for the de facto central bank.

Around 0945 GMT, the U.S. dollar was at S$1.7441, down from
S$1.7469 late Friday.

The Philippine peso wasn't spared either by the baht's tumble.
Additionally, worries over domestic security, as riot police
clubbed protesters ahead of President Joseph Estrada's state of
the nation address amid waning confidence in his administration,
and over the ballooning budget deficit, continued to roil the
Philippine currency, dealers said.

The dollar closed at 44.600 pesos on the Philippine Dealing
System, up from Friday's close of 44.400 pesos, and is set to re-
test its recent high of 45.15 pesos in the short term, analysts
said.

The Indonesian rupiah was steady at Rp 8,903 to the dollar,
following President Wahid's apology last Friday to parliament.

Doubts, however, prevail that Wahid's attempt to pacify angry
legislators will ease the political tension ahead of the
country's national assembly next month, market observers said.

But Patterson at JP Morgan said while the rupiah is expected
to be volatile in the next two to three weeks, it will likely be
supported by Bank Indonesia's moves to defend the beleaguered
currency and fears of such intervention, even if it doesn't step
in.

The rupiah will likely, however, weaken toward Rp 10,000 to
the dollar at the end of the third quarter after the national
assembly meeting, even if Wahid survives the session, the
strategist added.

Foreign investors will likely continue to shun the country
given the social and political instability there, the slow
privatization process and the patchy economic recovery, she said.

In North Asia, foreign equity outflows, which led to sharp
losses in local stock prices, eroded the South Korean won and the
New Taiwan dollar, dealers said.

In Seoul, the dollar finished at 1,114 won, up from Friday's
close of 1,112.70 won.

Against the New Taiwan dollar, the U.S. currency ended at
NT$31.046, up slightly from NT$31.019 late Friday.