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.