New Taiwan dollar, won hammered, rupiah slips
New Taiwan dollar, won hammered, rupiah slips
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The New Taiwan dollar and South Korean won were hammered Monday by falling stock prices, softness in the yen and a slew of other negative news.
Elsewhere, the Singapore dollar, Indonesian rupiah and the Thai baht slipped, while the Philippine peso strengthened.
The Indonesian rupiah closed flat Monday, but traded lower for most of the day on concerns over the central bank's independence, dealers said.
The dollar closed at Rp 9,440 in Asia, flat from Friday's close, but off the day's high of Rp 9,485.
Early Monday, the currency moved higher after the government said it will ask parliament to change regulations to make it easier to replace the central bank governor and deputies.
After last week's resignation of acting governor Anwar Nasution and four other governors, investors are worried that the central bank could lose its policy focus while politicians wrangle over who should head the bank.
Most players think that despite the risk of policy confusion, the central bank should keep in place its policy to mount a defense of the rupiah at Rp 9,500. This should form solid dollar resistance Tuesday.
The New Taiwan dollar tumbled to its lowest level in 17 months on the heels of a sharp drop in the country's main stock index.
Investors dumped Taiwan stocks amid concerns over the country's political situation and the future of its stock stabilization fund.
In addition, the currency has been under general pressure lately due to the country's bad debt problems and weakness in the semiconductor sector, which makes up a large part of Taiwan's manufacturing base.
"Basically the only news coming out of Taiwan is bad news," said Frank Gong, currency strategist at Bank of America in Hong Kong.
The U.S. dollar closed Monday at NT$32.442, up from NT$32.278 late Saturday, its highest finish since mid-June 1999.
In Seoul, the South Korean won lost more than 1 percent of its value as the currency fell to its lowest level against the dollar this year.
Stock prices dropped 2.5 percent as a reform bill stalled in parliament and Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co.'s restructuring plan failed to impress investors.
The dollar closed at 1,154.0 won, up from 1,147.8 won Friday, and its strongest finish since Dec. 1, 1999.
Chartists say 1,170 won will be the next level traders will be shooting for as selling pressure continues on the won.
"Technically it looks ugly for the won," Gong said.
The Thai baht fell to a 32-month low against the dollar in line with weakness in other regional currencies.
Late in Asian trading the dollar was quoted at 44.34 baht, up from 44.11 baht late Friday. It was the dollar's strongest performance against the baht since the week of March 9, 1998, when it reached 46.050 baht.
The widespread retreat in Asian currencies pushed the Singapore dollar to a three-week low late Monday in Asian trading.
Late in Asia the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.7550, up from S$1.7498 late Friday in Asia.
"We're seeing across the board dollar strength. The Singapore dollar is mirroring trading in the rest of Asia," said a dealer at a European bank.
The U.S. dollar is expected to breach the S$1.7550 level in overnight trading in London, he said.
The Philippine peso was buoyed by remittance inflows from overseas Filipino workers and a lack of corporate dollar demand, traders said.
The impeachment case against President Joseph Estrada over corruption allegations remains the market's focus, prompting currency players to exercise caution.
The dollar closed at 49.815 pesos on the Philippine Dealing System, down from 49.860 pesos at the previous close.