Rupiah falls on dollar-buying, peso falls to new record low
Rupiah falls on dollar-buying, peso falls to new record low
JAKARTA (Dow Jones): The Indonesian rupiah closed lower Thursday on thin volume led by state bank dollar-buying after falls in regional currencies.
Strong market rumors that the chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, Cacuk Sudarijanto, will soon be ousted - which he has denied - also edged the rupiah lower.
Widigdo Sukarman, formerly head of PT Bank Negara Indonesia, is tipped to replace Cacuk.
The dollar ended at Rp 8,940 in Asia, up from Rp 8,845 late Wednesday.
The dollar could test the Rp 9,000 resistance level next week after sharp losses in the Philippine peso and Thai baht, said a foreign bank treasurer.
"It's not surprising that it's spilled over here," he said, referring to the regional currency falls.
IBRA's Vice Chairman Arwin Rasyid is leaving to join PT Bank Danamon Indonesia, sparking fears of political meddling at the powerful agency.
Attempts by the Philippine central bank to prop up the falling peso had a minimal impact on Thursday as the country's deepening political crisis pushed the currency to its second straight record low.
Philippine President Joseph Estrada Thursday rejected calls for his resignation in connection with a scandal in which it is alleged he took payoffs from illegal gambling operations.
The accusations prompted Vice President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo to resign from her cabinet post Thursday, and analysts said they expect other walkouts from Estrada's government.
Philippine Central Bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura, a longtime friend of Estrada's, has pledged to stick by the embattled president. Buenaventura also said there was no truth to rumors that Estrada's closest economic advisors would resign.
Estrada, in a television and radio address, denied accusations by a provincial governor that he received more than $10 million in payoffs from illegal gambling operators.
The dollar opened at 47.315 pesos and quickly broke through the 48.000 peso level on its way to an intraday high of 48.500 pesos. A move by the central bank to raise overnight lending rates and banks' reserve requirement helped the peso regain some of its losses, but not enough to prevent it from closing at a record low of 47.700 per dollar.
The Thai baht finished the Asian trading day below the psychologically important level of 43 baht per dollar for the first time since June 1998.
Analysts cited ongoing purchases of dollars by Thai corporations, concerns over rising energy prices, uncertainty about upcoming elections, and the weakening peso as major factors affecting the baht.
Late in Asia, the dollar was quoted at 43.295 baht, up from 42.970 baht late Wednesday.
The Singapore dollar got swept into the peso and baht selling frenzy, analysts said.
However, the city-state's solid economic fundamentals and fears of intervention by the Monetary Authority of Singapore helped minimize the currency's losses, they said.
Late Thursday in Asia, the U.S. dollar was trading at S$1.7523, up from S$1.7503 late Wednesday.
The South Korean won fell as Seoul stocks ended sharply lower on a surge of last-minute program-selling.
The dollar finished at 1,122.10 won, up from Wednesday's close of 1,121.40 won.
The New Taiwan dollar ended lower despite efforts by the central bank to lift the currency in the wake of a 3.9 percent plunge in Taiwan stocks.
The U.S. dollar closed at NT$31.300, compared with the previous close of NT$31.298.
Market participants said the central bank accounted for more than half of the day's US$500.5 million trading volume, selling U.S. dollars to support the local currency.