Most Asian currencies weaken, peso tumbles to fresh record low
Most Asian currencies weaken, peso tumbles to fresh record low
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Most Asian currencies weakened late on
Tuesday, with the Philippine peso feeling the brunt of the pain
as it tumbled to a fresh record low.
Renewed strength in crude oil prices overnight - fueled by
mounting concerns over escalating strife in the Middle East and a
cold snap that hit the U.S. Northeast - combined with the languid
performance on Asian bourses to push the currencies lower,
dealers said.
The Indonesian rupiah closed slightly lower in quiet trading
at Rp 8,825 against the U.S. dollar from Rp 8,812 late Monday.
Still, the rupiah was mostly unaffected by slides in the Thai
baht and Philippine peso as foreign participants preferred to
speculate on those currencies and not on the rupiah, dealers
said.
"They prefer trading the dollar against the baht and the peso
as their directions are clearer than the rupiah's direction,"
said a dealer with a foreign bank.
The rupiah's illiquid trading since late last week has also
made it difficult for participants to square positions, dealers
noted.
However, they said, eventually the rupiah will be hit by the
slide of other regional currencies.
Dealers expect the dollar to trade between Rp 8,800 and Rp
8,850 Wednesday.
The Philippine peso moved into uncharted waters again for the
second time in a week, skidding to its lowest level in history
against the U.S. dollar, on the region's weakness and heightened
political anxieties.
The dollar closed at 46.890 pesos on the Philippine Dealing
System, up from Monday's close of 46.550 pesos.
Fears of potential impeachment proceedings against President
Joseph Estrada, following allegations that he and his family
received kickbacks from illegal gambling operations, continued to
unnerve market participants, dealers said.
The Thai baht continued to fall on higher oil prices, a weak
euro and rising political tensions ahead of the country's general
elections, expected later this year, dealers said.
In late Asian trade, the dollar was at 42.875 baht, up from
42.585 baht late Monday.
The Singapore dollar was unaffected by robust economic data
released earlier in the day, and yielded to the pressure from its
regional counterparts and the weak euro, dealers said.
The Ministry for Trade and Industry Tuesday raised its
economic growth forecast for 2000 to around 9 percent, from a
range of 7.5 percent to 8.5 percent previously.
The U.S. dollar climbed to as high as S$1.7525 before
retreating late in the day to S$1.7502, little changed from
S$1.7498 late Monday.
Also, despite weakness against the U.S. dollar, the Singapore
dollar has appreciated by about 1.5 percent against the
currencies of its major trading partners since late July, when
the de facto central bank signaled its preference for a stronger
local currency, the economist said.
He added that the U.S. dollar will likely trade between
S$1.7300 and S$1.7600 for the rest of the year, "with bias toward
the upside."
In South Korea, the dollar finished at 1,119 won, up from
Monday's close of 1,117 won.
Taiwan financial markets were closed on Tuesday for a national
holiday.