Asian regional currencies mixed
Asian regional currencies mixed
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Asian regional currencies finished
mixed in a day of choppy trading Thursday, with the Indonesian
rupiah taking a pause from its recent plunge.
But the worst isn't over for the rupiah, analysts said, noting
that investors will likely remain concerned over Indonesia's
political instability for some time.
The Philippine peso, Thai baht and New Taiwan dollar all
closed lower from Wednesday, while the Singapore dollar and South
Korean won were little changed.
The rupiah, which plunged 4 percent a day earlier after a bomb
blast rocked the attorney general's office, was helped by
comments from Senior Economic Minister Kwik Kian Gie. Kwik said
he would meet with central bank officials next week to discuss
ways to shore up the embattled currency.
Kwik also said the decline in the rupiah hasn't reflected
Indonesia's economic indicators, such as inflation and interest
rates, which remain favorable.
Near the end of Asian trading, the dollar was quoted at 9,290
rupiah, down from Rp 9,355 late Wednesday. Profit-taking also
help lift the rupiah, which some market players saw as a good buy
when it hit Rp 9,450 per dollar in overnight trading.
"But the bottom line is that the interest to buy dollars
against the rupiah is still there and will remain as long as the
political situation is unresolved," a trader said.
The Philippine peso fell through another key resistance level,
closing at a 21-month low of 43.950 pesos to the dollar compared
with 43.525 pesos a day earlier.
Dealers said the drop was more the result of weaker regional
currencies and demand for dollars by corporations and importers
than any specific distaste for the peso.
"There's no reason for the peso to be that weak," a dealer at
an Asian bank said. "There was a lot of onshore corporate buying
of dollars for debt repayment and trading purposes," he said.
"It was more of a supply/demand situation than anything to do
with the political situation there," he added.
The New Taiwan dollar declined in the wake of foreign outflows
from the local stock market.
The U.S. dollar ended at NT$30.839, up from NT$30.814
Wednesday.
Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$1.77 billion
worth of Taiwan shares Thursday. Taiwan shares closed down 132.35
points, or 1.6 percent, at 8,289.39 points, in line with the
overnight losses on Nasdaq.
The Thai baht was bounced around in a day of volatile trading,
finishing the session lower against the dollar. Late Thursday,
the dollar was quoted at 39.545 baht, up from 39.515 baht a day
earlier.
The dollar jumped to 39.680 baht in intraday trading after an
English-language media report misquoted a central banker as
saying the baht would "slip further."
According to the Thai-language media, the official actually
said the baht was simply suffering from the weaker rupiah, and he
offered no projection for the currency.
The won ended flat amid a slight easing of market worries over
a planned strike next week by local bank employees, traders said.
The dollar closed at 1,117.20 won, unchanged from Wednesday's
close.
The Singapore dollar was slightly higher, in step with the
upward move in the rupiah.
Late Thursday, the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7361,
compared with S$1.7367 a day earlier.
The U.S. currency briefly rose above last week's high of
S$1.7380. However, the Singapore dollar rebounded when the rupiah
began turning around, dealers said.