Dollar bulls run in Asian markets, but rupiah ends stronger

Dow Jones, Singapore

Asian currencies were mixed late Wednesday, with dollar bulls experiencing a resurrection as the region's grim fundamentals return to the forefront of investors' concerns, dealers said.

Anxieties over the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. had weighed on the dollar last month. But as panic in the market subsided, the dollar has gradually regained its footing.

The weaker yen exerted some pressure on the region's currencies Wednesday, dealers said.

At 0930 GMT ( or 1630 p.m. Jakarta time), the dollar was quoted at 120.82 yen, slightly up from 120.81 yen late Tuesday in New York. The dollar was at 120.35 yen late Tuesday in Tokyo.

The Singapore dollar and the Thai baht were weaker, while the Indonesian rupiah, the Philippine peso and the New Taiwan dollar were slightly stronger.

Asian currencies showed a muted reaction to the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision Tuesday to cut the target for its benchmark federal-funds interest rate to 2.5 percent from 3 percent.

The Singapore dollar felt the brunt of the yen's weakness and on U.S. dollar demand by U.S. investment houses, which sent it reeling to its lowest level in almost two months, dealers said.

Late Wednesday, the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7788, still higher than S$1.7774 the previous day.

The weakness of the Singapore dollar and the yen weighed on the Thai currency, which was at 44.760 baht a dollar, compared with 44.690 baht late Tuesday.

The baht could succumb to further pressure as the Thai central bank continued to resist the market's calls for it to lower interest rates, market watchers said.

Suspected dollar sales by Indonesia's central bank helped push the U.S. currency to below the Rp 10,000 level late in the day, dealers said.

But corporate demand for dollars kept the U.S. currency buoyed above Rp 9,900, dealers said.

Late in the day, the dollar was at Rp 9,915, lower than Rp 10,015 late Tuesday.