Rupiah ends lower in moderate trading on dollar demand
Rupiah ends lower in moderate trading on dollar demand
JAKARTA (Dow Jones): The Indonesian rupiah closed lower Monday
in moderate trading on local company demand for the dollar,
traders said.
The dollar closed at Rp 8,970 rupiah, down from Rp 8,890 late
Friday.
In addition to regional dollar strength, traders said concerns
over Indonesia's huge public debt burden pushed down the rupiah.
Finance Minister Prijadi Praptosuhardjo Monday said
Indonesia's government debt stood at 99 percent of gross domestic
product, and forecast it would fall to 86 percent in 2001.
"It's a bit worrisome for the government," said a foreign
trader.
State banks kept the edge off the dollar's rise by selling
dollars in the afternoon, but the upward trend seems likely to
continue, traders said.
If the regional trend continues, the dollar may test Rp 9,000
this week, but it is likely to meet resistance around Rp 9,050,
the foreign trader said.
Elsewhere, most Asian currencies fell, with the Thai baht and
the Philippine peso recording the steepest declines amid
political uncertainty in those nations.
The South Korean won and the Singapore dollar also declined
slightly, as stock markets in those countries gave up a portion
of last Friday's gains.
In Bangkok, the dollar hit the key 44.00 baht psychological
resistance level, rising to its highest level against the Thai
currency since June 1998 on strong buying by U.S. investment
banks and Singapore players. Traders said baht sellers were
emboldened by the national holiday in Thailand, which kept the
central bank out of the market.
Near the end of trading, the dollar was quoted at 43.990 baht,
up from 43.555 baht in Asia last Friday.
In Manila, the Philippine peso continued to lose ground
against the dollar as the Philippine Congress took its first step
Monday to consider the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada on
allegations he received millions of dollars from illegal gambling
operators.
The peso fell to an intraday low of 48.97 pesos against the
dollar Monday, near its all-time low of 49.00 pesos set earlier
this month. Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted at 48.94 pesos,
up from 48.74 pesos last Friday.
In Seoul, the Korean won dipped to an eight-month low against
the dollar, plunging to an intraday low of 1,139.40 won on
selling by local and foreign banks amid the slide in the Korean
stock market and ongoing worries about rising crude-oil prices.
At the end of Asian trading, the dollar closed at 1,138.50
won, up from Friday's close of 1,128.50 won. The benchmark Korea
Composite Stock price index dropped 17.60 points, or 3.22
percent, to end at 528.37.
In Singapore, the dollar was well-bid against the Singapore
dollar amid tight bid-offer spreads quoted for the U.S. dollar-
Singapore dollar pair's debut on the electronic broking system
(EBS) Monday.
"Today's debut of the dollar-sing on EBS went smoothly and
buying interest was there," BNP Paribas' Loo said. "This week,
I'm expecting the U.S. dollar to move in a range of S$1.7500-
S$1.7600."
The Singapore's Straits Times Index's moderate decline also
weighed on the Singapore dollar. Late in Asia, the STI was down
9.18 points, or 0.48%, at 1,914.49. The U.S. dollar was quoted at
S$1.7557, up from $1.7505 last Friday.
In Taipei, the New Taiwan dollar bucked the overall trend of
weakness for Asian currencies as Taiwan's central bank is
understood to have intervened to support its currency in the
Asian session, dealers said.
In late Asian trading, the dollar was quoted at NT$32.081,
down from NT$32.143 last Friday.