Asian monies mostly up, new closing low for peso
Asian monies mostly up, new closing low for peso
Dow Jones, Singapore
The Philippine peso bucked the regional trend to fall to an
all-time closing low for the third straight day on Thursday,
undermined by continued political and security concerns.
Other Asian currencies firmed on the back of stronger stock
markets and the yen's gains against the dollar and the euro.
The dollar ended at 55.265 peso on the Philippine Dealing
System, up from 55.190 peso on Wednesday, though off the intraday
peak of 55.280 peso, which was itself a 31-month high.
Traders said the threat of more unrest in the military after a
failed mutiny last month, and political uncertainty ahead of next
year's elections are supporting the dollar's gains against the
peso.
The peso's decline was in marked contrast to its stronger
regional counterparts, which were supported by equity-related
inflows and the yen's strength, said David Simmonds, senior
emerging markets strategist for Asia at The Royal Bank of
Scotland.
Portfolio investors consider Asian markets "a relatively cheap
and attractive play on the global growth pickup, which puts the
(regional) currencies under appreciating pressure," Simmonds
said.
The South Korean won finished at its strongest since end-
January on the back continued stock-related dollar sales and the
yen's gains, traders said.
The dollar closed at 1,173.0 won, down from 1,175.5 won on
Wednesday.
Anticipation of won selling by the government supported the
dollar around 1,174 won in the morning, but the dollar's losses
widened in the afternoon as selling by foreign stock investors
accelerated, traders said.
They said the government likely kept away from buying dollars
during the session as any effort to prop up the U.S. unit would
most probably be offset by its decline against the yen.
The Singapore dollar rose to a fresh two-month high in Asia on
portfolio inflows into the local stock market and yen strength,
but trimmed gains later in the session.
The tumbling euro also aided the local unit because of its
weighting in the undisclosed trade-weighted basket of currencies
against which the central bank guides the Singapore currency.
The U.S. dollar fell as low as S$1.7360 but recovered somewhat
to trade around S$1.7398 late in the local session, though still
down from S$1.7488 late on Wednesday.
Concerns that the central bank might sell its currency was one
reason why the U.S. unit recouped some losses, traders said.
Against the New Taiwan dollar, the U.S. unit closed at
NT$34.238, down from NT$34.298 Wednesday, on foreign buying of
local shares and the yen's gains.
"We have seen massive (U.S. dollar) selling from foreign banks
and I think it's inflows for investment," said a Taipei dealer.
Overseas investors bought a net NT$9.01 billion of local
shares on Thursday, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Traders suspected the local dollar would have strengthened
further if not for intervention by Taiwan's central bank.
The Indonesian rupiah extended gains for the third straight
day as investments into the country continued to recover on
fading security concerns, dealers said.
The dollar closed at Rp 8,390, down from Rp 8,415 on
Wednesday.
The Thai baht strengthened in tandem with its regional
counterparts. Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted around 41.55
baht, down from 41.68 baht late on Wednesday.