Singapore dollar firms, security woes hit rupiah
Singapore dollar firms, security woes hit rupiah
Dow Jones, Singapore
Most Asian currencies tracked the yen higher Friday as market
players unwound some long-dollar positions and took profits ahead
of the weekend, although regional gave up much of their gains
late in the session.
The Singapore dollar and the Thai baht remained firm late in
Asia, while the South Korean won, the New Taiwan dollar and the
Philippine peso ended flat. But security concerns kept the
Indonesian rupiah on a softer footing.
The dollar fell almost a full yen in Asia as profit-taking
from U.S. funds and speculators sent it spinning through key
support levels.
Traders said the dollar's decline against the yen sparked
stop-loss selling in regional markets.
"There's some profit-taking, and I think people are squaring
off (positions). The market is still quite a bit long (dollars),
so there's some unwinding of positions," a senior trader at a
Singapore-based Asian bank said.
He added that some flow of investment funds into the region is
also helping to support local currencies.
However, most Asian units fell back from initial peaks as the
dollar found support from Japan's continued political wrangling
over banking sector reforms, as uncertainty over the government's
plans hurts the yen.
Late in Asia, the U.S. dollar recovered some lost ground and
was quoted around S$1.7750, although still down from S$1.7780
late Thursday.
The South Korean won was flat for a second straight day after
spending most of the session in positive territory on the back of
the yen's gains.
The dollar ended at 1,231.9 won, nearly unchanged from 1,232.0
won Thursday, after trading between 1,225.3 won and 1,236.0 won.
The New Taiwan dollar was also unchanged as the impact of a
stronger yen was offset by losses in local stocks, which prompted
some interbank traders to cover short U.S. dollar positions.
The dollar closed at NT$34.805, unchanged from Thursday, in
dealings valued at $327 million, down from $460 million
previously.
The dollar closed at 53.090 peso on the Philippine Dealing
System, little changed from 53.100 peso Thursday, after trading
in a tight band between 53.040 peso and 53.145 peso.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian rupiah was pressured as the market
grew increasingly jittery over the security situation in the
country following a following a small blast in a Western Java
city late Thursday, traders said.
The explosion in a shopping mall in Bandung, 180 kilometers
southeast of Jakarta, injured two people and heightened fears of
renewed terror attacks after the deadly bombing in Bali almost
two weeks ago.
The dollar ended the Asian session at Rp 9,245, up from Rp
9,200 Thursday, but off an intraday high of Rp 9,248. Traders
suspect the central bank stepped in to cap the dollar's rise.
However, trading volume was low as most participants stayed on
the sidelines ahead of the weekend.
"Those who had short dollar positions covered back their
positions just in case bad news comes out during the weekend,"
said a trader with a foreign bank.