Most Asian monies up against dollar

Most Asian monies up against dollar

SINGAPORE (AFP): Most Asian currencies ended higher against
the U.S. dollar in quiet trade Friday despite the fall of the
Japanese yen.

The Indonesian rupiah briefly rose to 8,000 levels against the
dollar as investors unwound long positions on the greenback but
fell later.

The rupiah rose to a high of 8,820 before pulling back to
9,025 to the U.S. dollar, but was still higher than its close
here the day before of 9,210.

"The selling (of the dollar) is coming from Jakarta banks that
were long on the dollar earlier this week," said a dealer with a
European bank here.

In Jakarta, Bank Indonesia governor Sjahril Sabirin said there
was no intervention from the bank Friday.

He said the rupiah's recovery was triggered by three factors
-- fading fears of a yuan devaluation, implementation of banking
recapitalization and parliament's approval of political bills.

The bills cleared the way for polls in June, the first general
election since the fall of former president Soeharto in May 1998.

Other Asian currencies that closed slightly higher were the
Thai baht at 36.75 from 36.85, while the Philippine peso ended at
38.50 from 38.59, and the Taiwan dollar at 32.300 from 32.310.

The Singapore dollar fell to 1.6904 to the greenback from
1.6888 the day before, and the South Korean won dipped slightly
to 1,175 from 1,174.30.

The yen closed here at 116.30, down from its finish here
Thursday of 115.33, although it was marginally higher from its
close of 116.38 in New York.

Dealers here said the yen traded weakly following overnight
gains by the dollar on a report from the US Commerce Department
on Thursday.

The US report noted that durable goods orders jumped 1.9
percent in December, well above market expectations.

Durable goods orders are considered a key indicator of future
economic growth.

Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs Eisuke
Sakakibara said Japan's financial crisis is at an end and will
touch bottom by mid-1999, but that the economy will take some
time to recover.

Sakakibara, speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic
Forum in Davos, said monetary authorities would intervene if the
yen strengthened too much.