Most Asian currencies end higher
Most Asian currencies end higher
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Most Asian currencies were higher late Friday, with the Southeast Asian units gaining on the rupiah's resilience in the face of outrage following the dismissal of the corruption case against ex-President Soeharto, dealers said.
In northeast Asia, the South Korean won was stronger, while the New Taiwan dollar was steady.
Market participants had initially expected the rupiah to weaken further on Friday as they braced for more street mayhem in Jakarta, dealers said. Hundreds of protesters, outraged by the dismissal of the graft case against Soeharto on grounds that he was too sick to stand trial, clashed with police late Thursday.
But as the situation appeared to have improved slightly on Friday, market participants unwound their long-dollar positions, pushing the U.S. currency back below the Rp 8,800 level, dealers said. They added, however, that violence could easily erupt once more.
The dollar closed at Rp 8,775 in Asia, down from Rp 8,840 late Thursday.
"We don't know why our individual customers sold their dollars today," said a dealer with a foreign bank in Jakarta. "This was very surprising regarding the market's concern about possible violence after the court dropped the corruption charges."
Besides dollar selling by individual customers, an American investment house was also seen selling the dollar to buy shares of Telkom and Indofood in the Jakarta Stock Exchange.
The U.S. unit is expected to continue sliding Monday if Jakarta stays calm over the weekend. The dollar is expected to trade between Rp 8,720 and Rp 8,850 Monday.
In the Thai currency market, the dollar slipped to 42.220 baht from 42.470 baht late Thursday.
Many analysts expect the baht to extend its recent rally next week, as dollar demand recedes with the Thai financial year drawing to a close this week.
After failing to convincingly break below 42 baht support earlier this week, the dollar is likely to be pressured below this psychologically important level again next week, analysts said.
Against the Singapore dollar, the U.S. currency fell to S$1.7417 from S$1.7450 late Thursday.
On the Philippine Dealing System, the dollar closed at 46.150 pesos, down from Thursday's close of 46.270 pesos.
Elsewhere, month-end dollar-selling by Korean exporters and the potential for an upgrade in South Korea's credit ratings lifted the won, dealers said.
The dollar finished at 1,115 won, down from Thursday's close of 1,115.80 won.
Standard & Poor's Corp. said that it could upgrade South Korea's current triple-B credit rating with a positive outlook, given the country's impressive economic recovery from its financial crisis.
Against the New Taiwan dollar, the U.S. currency was unchanged at NT$31.318 from Thursday's close, after intervention by the central bank countered the downward pressure from a slump in the local bourse, dealers said.