Asian monies mostly up on equity inflows
Asian monies mostly up on equity inflows
Dow Jones, Singapore
Most Asian currencies strengthened against the dollar on Monday, except for the Philippine peso, which weakened amid importer demand for the U.S. unit.
Foreign inflows into the equity markets in Taiwan and South Korea supported the currencies there, dealers said. The Singapore dollar and Thai baht also strengthened in lackluster sessions, while the Indonesian rupiah finished little changed.
In Manila, importers stepped up their dollar purchases as they normally do in the third quarter in preparation for increased consumer spending for Christmas.
The dollar closed at a four-month high of 53.750 peso, up from 53.720 peso late on Friday.
In Seoul, foreign investors bought a net 105 billion won worth of shares on the Korea Stock Exchange Monday. Foreigners normally buy won and sell dollars to settle their purchases.
The dollar closed at 1,178.4 won, down from 1,182.7 won on Friday.
Tensions over North Korea's nuclear program didn't hurt the South Korean currency much although investors became "more cautious" on the news that the communist North may be operating a second facility, dealers said.
The dollar got some support as Korean companies bought the U.S. currency to settle their import deals, lifting it as high as 1,182.0 won in the morning session.
Against the New Taiwan dollar, the U.S. currency closed at NT$34.425, down from NT$34.468 late on Friday.
Overseas investors helped fuel a 1.3 percent rise in the weighted index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange, dealers said, helping spur demand for the Taiwan currency.
Foreigners bought a net NT$1.68 billion in Taiwan shares Monday, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Another Taiwan dealer said, however, the U.S. dollar will likely rise against the yen again Tuesday, and that will put more pressure on the local unit.
With little in the way of domestic news to drive trading in Singapore, the local currency tracked its regional peers.
Late in Asia the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7576, down from S$1.7620 late on Friday.
DBS Bank said in a research report published Monday that it expected domestic data in the coming months to reflect Singapore's improving economic fundamentals, which would in turn boost sentiment on the local dollar.
But with no major economic indicators due this week, DBS said it expected the U.S. dollar-Singapore dollar pair to keep within the current range of S$1.7500-S$1.7600.
The baht's moves similarly were reflective of the regional trend.
Near the end of Asian trading the dollar was quoted at 41.70 baht, down from 41.76 baht late on Friday.
"Trading was lackluster, with only a few transactions, due to an absence of market participants with a public holiday in Japan," one traders said.
The central bank's monetary policy committee left its 14-day repurchase market target rate unchanged at 1.25 percent at a policy meeting Monday, as expected.
Against the rupiah the dollar was quoted at Rp 8,320, barely changed from late Friday.
Suspected central bank intervention supported the local currency amid dollar demand from importers and local companies settling offshore debts.