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.