Most Asia currencies close higher

Most Asia currencies close higher

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Most Asian currencies were higher late
Thursday, with the Philippine peso bucking the trend,
underscoring yet again that there is only so much the central
banks could do to counter the pressure from domesticpolitical
woes, market watchers said. Like the peso, the Indonesian rupiah
was also left out in the cold after it slumped to a 26-month low
in London trading Wednesday.

The South Korean won, the New Taiwan dollar and the Singapore
dollar were stronger. The Thai baht was steady.

Short of imposing capital controls, the central banks,
especially those in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, seem
rather helpless in preventing their currencies from being wounded
by domestic political anxieties, some analysts said.

The Philippine authorities, for example, recently tightened
its foreign exchange regulations and raised domestic interest
rates sharply to defend its currency.

After stagnating for many sessions, the Indonesian currency
threw many participants off guard after it skidded to a 26-month
low of 9,675 rupiah against the dollar in London trading
Wednesday.

The London offices of a Hong Kong and a U.S. bank were said to
have bought dollars aggressively, which in turn fueled stop-loss
buying in dollars when it pierced through Rp 9,600, dealers said.

Dollar-selling by Indonesian state banks, believed to have
acted on behalf of the central bank, pushed the U.S. currency
back below Rp 9,600.

Late Thursday, the dollar was at Rp 9,575, up from Rp 9,522
late Wednesday.

Currency watchers played down the attribution of the rupiah's
renewed weakness to central bank Governor Sjahril Sabirin's
return to office Wednesday, following his five month detention.

Instead, keen dollar demand by local corporations that need to
repay their foreign debt had pushed the rupiah lower, they said.

Liquidation of long U.S. dollar positions, which had been
built up recently, helped lift the Singapore dollar, the South
Korean won and the New Taiwan dollar, dealers said.

Against the Singapore dollar, the U.S. currency slid to
S$1.7367 from S$1.7432 late Wednesday.

In Seoul, the dollar closed at 1,195.3 won, down from 1,200.9
won Wednesday.

Against the New Taiwan dollar, which was aided by central bank
intervention, the U.S. dollar closed at NT$33.038, down from
NT$33.065 Wednesday.

The Thai currency tracked the Singapore dollar's gains,
strengthening to 43.405 baht against the dollar, from 43.685 baht
late Wednesday.