Most Asian units down on yen weakness
Most Asian units down on yen weakness
Dow Jones, Singapore
The U.S. dollar's modest advance against the yen Friday kept
pressure on most Asian currencies in the absence of any
significant domestic developments in most markets.
The Singapore dollar, Thai baht, South Korean won, New Taiwan
dollar and Philippine peso all weakened. The Indonesian rupiah
strengthened slightly on expectations that the first tranche of
Bank Central Asia (BCA) sale proceeds will flow into the market
next week, analysts said.
The yen wandered aimlessly against the U.S. dollar for most of
the day, finishing slightly lower on the heels of a decline in
local stock prices and comments from Japanese policymakers
indicating that no new fiscal anti-deflation measures are
forthcoming.
"Comments by Japanese officials suggest there is almost no
risk of them pulling a rabbit out of a hat in the form of a
meaningful and effective near-term policy response to the
country's enduring deflation problem," JP Morgan said in a note
to clients.
Late in Asia the U.S. dollar was quoted at 132.26 yen, up from
131.93 yen late Thursday in New York.
The yen could get some support next week from asset
repatriation by Japanese companies ahead of the March 31 fiscal
year-end. However, gains will likely be limited by a range of
yen-negative factors, including Japan's poor economic outlook.
The won tracked the yen to a weaker finish in light trading,
closing at 1,328.4 won to the U.S. dollar compared with 1,326.8
won a day earlier.
Government authorities in Jakarta took advantage of recent
positive investor sentiment to help prop up the rupiah, as the
Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, or IBRA, sold dollars in
the afternoon, according to dealers.
The dollar ended at Rp 9,835, compared with Rp 9,860 late
Thursday.
The market has turned more bullish on the rupiah lately
following the government's long-awaited sale of its 51 percent
stake in BCA to Farallon Capital of the U.S., a move that spurred
hopes there might be progress on banking reform in the nation.
The Philippine peso followed the yen to a weaker close, but
recouped some of its early losses after some dollar remittance
inflows from overseas Filipino workers found their way into the
currency market late in the session.
The dollar closed at 51.095 peso on the Philippine Dealing
System, up from 51.065 peso Thursday.
Likewise, the Singapore dollar followed the yen lower.
Near the end of Asian trading, the U.S. dollar was quoted at
S$1.8289, up from S$1.8247 late Thursday.
In Bangkok, the baht fell against the U.S. currency on dollar
buying by offshore counterparties, as the dollar rose to finish
at 43.36 baht, up slightly from 43.30 baht at the previous day's
close.