Asian monies up, rupiah at 9,050

Asian monies up, rupiah at 9,050

Ryan Woo, Dow Jones, Singapore

Asian currencies extended last week's gains Monday, some of
them breaking through key technical levels, as they capitalized
on the U.S. dollar's continued weakness, particularly against the
yen.

The surging Singapore dollar rose to a seven-month high
against the dollar, as the U.S. currency slipped below key
support at S$1.7900 en route to an intraday low of S$1.7886.

The U.S. currency also dropped to a fresh 15-month low against
the South Korean won and continued to wallow at a nine-month low
versus the Indonesian rupiah.

Traders in Asia were looking to dump dollars from the start of
Monday's session after the U.S. currency lost more than two yen
in frenetic New York trading last Friday. The dollar remained
under pressure against its Japanese counterpart to start the
week, closing out the Tokyo session Monday at 125.78 yen versus
125.87 yen late Friday in New York, as investors shifted capital
into Japan amid hopes that the nation's economy has finally
bottomed out.

The foundering dollar, by eroding the competitiveness of Asian
exports, raises concerns that fledgling economic recoveries in
several Asia-Pacific nations could get sideswiped before they
manage to get off the ground.

Mindful of that threat, officials in some countries complained
Monday about the U.S. currency's recent slump.

Kim Yong-Duk, Deputy Minister for International Affairs at
South Korea's Ministry of Finance and Economy characterized the
dollar's fall against the won as "abrupt and large," and he
explained, "Although it reflects the dollar's global weakness to
a certain extent, the (dollar/won's) fall is prompting emotional
uneasiness among market players...and it's no good."

Kim added that the ministry might intervene in the currency
markets to support the dollar and cap the won.

Kim was speaking as the dollar dropped to an intraday low of
1,251.5 won. The dollar later pared its losses, closing at
1,253.6 won, down from 1,261.6 won Friday and representing a new
15-month low.

The latest dollar-won slide came two days before the release
of key South Korean economic data. The gross domestic product
data, due at 0300 GMT Wednesday, are expected to show that
economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of the year.

The Singapore dollar also benefited both from the dollar's
woes and a deepening perception that the island nation's economy
is looking increasingly robust after the government released data
Friday showing that economic growth accelerated in the January-
March period to an annualized 7.7 percent on quarter.

The dollar ended the session at S$1.7910, down from S$1.7950
late Friday.

The Singapore dollar also continued to benefit from comments
made Friday by a Monetary Authority of Singapore official who
said the MAS is "comfortable" with the currency's present levels,
a statement some traders took to mean the MAS would allow the
local dollar to strengthen further without intervening.

The Philippine peso, buoyed by the yen, closed at a 14-month
high, as the U.S. dollar fell to 49.355 pesos from 49.460 pesos
Friday.

"The global sentiment is for a weaker dollar," said a dealer
with a local bank. "Why go against the tide?"

Indeed, Central bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura told
reporters Monday that the peso's appreciation is broadly
consistent with the trend in the region, and a former finance
secretary said the peso remains undervalued.

The Bankers Association of the Philippines' newly elected
President Cesar Virata said, "The peso is so undervalued and
that's why so many analysts are saying that the improvement in
the exchange rate is just getting the right value of the peso."

A former finance secretary during the Marcos administration,
Virata earlier this month took the helm of the BAP, which
represents the country's 46 commercial banks.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Indonesian rupiah ended higher in line
with the region's currencies, as the dollar edged lower to a
close of Rp9,050, down from Rp9,080 at Friday's close. The rupiah
rallied as high as Rp9,000 but failed to breach the level. Local
companies that need to repay foreign loans were bidding for the
U.S. currency, dealers said.

Meantime, the dollar fell to new 15-month low of 42.53 baht
before recovering slightly to 42.585 baht, down from 42.73 baht
at Friday's close.

Only one central bank in Asia actually tried to support the
dollar Monday. A dealer said the Taiwanese central bank tried to
slow the local currency's rise, buying "between US$800 million
and US$900 million."

But the New Taiwan dollar still ended higher, as the dollar
fell to NT$34.412, its lowest close since June 20, 2001.