Rupiah steady against dollar in slow trading
JAKARTA (JP): The rupiah was steady against the American dollar in slow trading yesterday as stocks lost ground on high selling pressure on blue chip shares, currency and stock dealers said.
Currency dealers said that there was almost no trading activity throughout the afternoon after active morning trading pushed the rupiah to its lowest level of 3,510.
"I think most people are now waiting for the details of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial package for Indonesia," a chief dealer with a local bank said.
Dealers said the rupiah fell through the 3,500 level to a low of 3,510 before the central bank intervened and brought the dollar back to 3,450.
"The central bank checked the market when the rupiah was at 3,490 and it sold a small amount of dollars," another dealer said.
Currency dealers said the spot rupiah closed at 3,470/3,500 compared to the opening of 3,450/3,500 yesterday.
As the rupiah stabilized, share prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) declined with high pressure on some capitalized stocks to sell.
"Most foreign investors are on the sideline now and they are waiting for details of the financial package," an analyst with a joint venture securities company said.
The JSX composite index fell 5.90 points to close at 528.91 yesterday with a total turnover of 381.60 million shares on the regular market valued at Rp 477.14 billion (US$136.32 million).
Thailand's eagerly awaited financial reform package scarcely provoked a sound in other Southeast Asian currency markets yesterday as traders found little cause for celebration, AFP reported.
The baht was at 36.10/40 to the dollar offshore at 5:30 p.m. Jakarta time and 35.90/36.00 six hours earlier. The onshore rate barely changed at 36.45/55.
The Singapore dollar hit a low of 1.5440 to the U.S. dollar after Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said the country would not emerge unscathed from the regional currency crisis.
It recovered to 1.5384/94 -- near its opening level but off an early high of about 1.5300.
The ringgit remained relatively firm at 3.1060/1110 to the U.S. dollar from an opening of about 3.14 on local corporate demand ahead of the Malaysian budget proposal on Friday.
Dealers said there was speculation that Malaysian state oil firm Petronas might have been behind some ringgit purchases through a large Malaysian bank. A Petronas spokesman declined to comment.
The ringgit was expected to keep to between 3.08 and 3.20 before the budget proposal.
The Philippine peso came down to 34.13 to the U.S. dollar after breaching its volatility band three times, causing it to be confined to a 31.514/34.139 band for the rest of the session.
Manila traders said the peso's weakness was sparked by companies buying dollars to cover foreign exchange exposure. The central bank also failed to put up a strong defense after intervening early in the day.
Vietnam's nonconvertible dong became the latest victim of the regional currency rut as its central bank widened the permitted trading band to 10 percent either side of the official daily rate from 5 percent, allowing it room to slide. (aly)