Asian units rise in step with the yen
Asian units rise in step with the yen
SINGAPORE (AFP): Asian currencies ended steady on Tuesday in line with a firmer Japanese yen as the correction in U.S. stocks pulled down the American dollar, dealers said.
The yen closed in Singapore around 122.65 per dollar after hitting a morning high of 122.50, up from its close here Monday of 123.80 and its level in New York of 122.92 Monday afternoon.
The Singapore dollar, buoyed by the yen, firmed to 1.6465 to the US dollar from its close of 1.6515 Monday.
Also higher were the Thai baht at 36.06 from 36.10 and the Philippine peso at 39.355 from its close of 39.455 last Friday. Manila markets were closed Monday for a holiday.
The South Korean won was virtually unchanged at 1,245 and so was the Taiwan dollar at 32.428.
South Korea's usable foreign exchange reserves hit a record high of 46.47 billion dollars at the end of November, a year after state coffers almost ran dry, official data showed Tuesday.
Total foreign exchange reserves, including local bank reserves at overseas branches, rose to 50.02 billion dollars at the end of November, from 48.83 billion dollars a month ago, the central Bank of Korea (BoK) said.
The Singapore dealer said the Bundesbank was rumored to have bought up the mark on Monday. He said "nobody knows why" the German central bank made the end-of-the-month move.
The U.S. dollar weakened as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 216.53 points Monday, or 2.32 percent, to 9,116.55 on profit-taking particularly in the technology, Internet and finance sectors.
A dealer with Midland Bank in Tokyo said dollar selling "was triggered by the correction" of the Dow Jones overnight.
In Tokyo, the dollar came under pressure against the yen here Tuesday as a decline in U.S. share prices caused selling, dealers said.
At late trading, the U.S. unit traded at 122.77-80 yen, down from 122.92 yen in New York and 123.81-84 yen here late Monday. It fetched 122.85-87 yen in late morning trading.
"The selling was triggered by the correction of the Dow Jones Industrials average overnight," a dealer with Midland Bank said.
In London, the pound continued to fall against the mark in London on Tuesday owing to central-bank selling and a fall of the dollar after a sharp slide in the New York stock market.
The pound was being traded at 2.7859 marks from 2.7963 marks late on Monday, back to levels seen a month ago.
The dollar was at 122.59 yen in London down from 122.87 yen earlier in Tokyo and 123.28 yen here late on Monday, and at 1.6869 marks from 1.6967.
"Sterling's fall was blamed on central bank sales," a senior economist at Deutsche Bank, Michael Lewis, said.
The selling was believed to have been carried out by the Bundesbank. The pound was hit by weakening of the dollar and by continuing speculation over a Bank of England interest rate cut on Dec.10.
The dollar was being traded at 1.6869 marks from 1.6967, 122.59 yen from 123.28, 1.3863 Swiss francs from 1.3976, and 5.6590 French francs from 5.6889.
The mark was at 72.61 yen from 72.67, 0.8210 Swiss francs from 0.8229, 989.85 lira from 990.05, 3.3516 French francs from 3.3537 and 85.06 pesetas from 85.07.
The pound was at 1.6504 dollars from 1.6485, 2.7859 marks from 2.7963, 202.30 yen from 203.12, 2.2879 Swiss francs from 2.3039 and 9.3433 French francs from 9.3779.