Most Asian currencies up late
Most Asian currencies up late
Alan Yonan Jr., Singapore, Dow Jones
Most Asian currencies strengthened modestly Wednesday, as many
paying little heed to the dollar's rebound against the yen during
the session.
Only the South Korean won weakened as it succumbed to the
yen's decline and amid foreign outflows from the local stock
market.
The won gave up some of its gains from a day earlier when the
South Korean currency had hit a three-month high against the
dollar.
Foreign investors were net sellers of Korean stocks for the
second day in a row, putting pressure on the local currency ahead
of the proceeds being converted from won to dollars.
Foreigners sold a net 60.5 billion won of shares Wednesday,
contributing to a 1.1 percent decline in the Korea Stock
Exchange's main index.
Despite the "mild profit-taking" by foreign investors in the
Korean stock market, the momentum of equity inflows indicated by
a 10-day moving average remains supportive for the won, JP Morgan
said in a research report.
The U.S. dollar closed at 1,307.0 won, up from 1,306.3 won a
day earlier.
The yen's weakness weighed on the won after Japanese Finance
Ministry officials repeated their concerns over the dollar's
slide below the psychologically important 130 level yen.
The won's fall would have been greater if not for a hefty
round of dollar selling by KorAm Bank. The bank sold $200 million
as part of a foreign exchange hedging strategy ahead of its
pricing of $200 million in global depository receipts Thursday,
said Hyun-Jung Ryoo, KorAm's chief foreign exchange dealer.
The New Taiwan dollar continued to flex its muscle, hitting a
fresh four-month closing high as exporters sold the U.S.
currency.
However, most of the New Taiwan dollar's gains were eroded by
the Taiwan central bank's last-minute intervention aimed at
preventing the currency from appreciating too quickly.
The U.S. dollar closed at NT$34.808, down from NT$34.810
Tuesday. The U.S. currency had traded as low as NT$34.793 before
the central bank intervened, buying about US$100 million.
The U.S. dollar also garnered some support from short-covering
by interbank traders and U.S. dollar buying in overseas non-
deliverable forwards markets.
The Indonesian rupiah continued to ride a wave of positive
investor sentiment being generated by the country's progress on
economic reforms and restructuring of its huge public debt.
Near the end of Asian trading the dollar was quoted at Rp
9,325, down from Rp 9,400 the previous session.
The dollar had traded as high as Rp 9,405 midway through the
session, but fell victim to profit-taking. Key dollar support
remains at Rp 9,200, dealers say.
The peso gained as exporters unloaded dollars and banks
trimmed their excess dollar holdings after accumulating the U.S.
currency over the past few days in response to bomb blasts in the
southern part of the country.
The dollar closed at 50.895 pesos on the Philippine dealing
system, down from 50.960 pesos a day earlier.
The Singapore dollar recovered from an early session decline
to end the Asian session little changed.
Late in Asia the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.8190, compared
with S$1.8187 late Tuesday.
The U.S. dollar's rise to an intraday high of S$1.8225 around
midmorning prompted profit-taking by a local bank, sending the
U.S. currency lower.
The baht traded weaker for most of the day in tandem with the
softer yen. The dollar hit an intraday high of 43.560 baht in the
afternoon session, but slipped near the close as the yen began to
rebound.
Near the end of Asian trading the dollar was quoted at 43.295
baht, little changed from 43.290 baht a day earlier.