Rupiah steady against dollar in slow trading

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)