Southeast Asian currencies mixed against U.S. dollar
Southeast Asian currencies mixed against U.S. dollar
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Southeast Asian currencies were mixed against the U.S. dollar in late trading on Friday, a suitable end to a lackluster week of trading in the region, traders said.
The Thai baht did manage to edge up to a 58-week high Thursday and the Singapore dollar fell sharply Friday, but "there wasn't much movement overall, because of the Japanese and U.S. holidays this week, and the fact that many traders and banks are on the sideline for the remainder of the year," said Jean Wee, a regional analyst for Sanwa Bank in Singapore. She said next week should feature more of "the same kind of stability and a slight decoupling from the (U.S.) dollar-yen."
Ryan Padgett, treasurer at Bank Brussels Lambert, said the big question at the moment is, as usual, the health of the U.S. economy.
For the moment, signs of a yen-decoupling already have been seen, especially in the Thai baht, which managed to nip below 36 baht to the U.S dollar Thursday, for the first time in more than a year. The market tried to push the U.S. dollar lower Friday, but met firm resistance at 35.97 baht, traders said.
In a late Asian trading, the U.S. dollar was trading at 36.12 baht, well up from 36.02 baht late Thursday but down from 36.15 baht last Friday.
On the Philippines Dealing System, the U.S. dollar was trading at 39.44 pesos, down from 36.49 pesos late Thursday and well down from 39.61 pesos last week, as the news about foreign capital inflows and economic performance was good.
The U.S. dollar was also trading at Rp 7,475, almost unchanged from Rp 7,450 in late trading Thursday but lower than Rp 7,525 last Friday.
In Singapore, the currency had been given the same tight-range prognosis by traders earlier this week, but the republic's dollar seems inexorably linked to the fortunes of the yen.
Even when worrying domestic figures are released, the timing of the release seems to be when the yen is embarking on another slide against the U.S. dollar.
In late trading, the U.S. dollar was trading at S$1.6542, well up from S$1.6462 late Thursday and significantly higher than last Friday when the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.6290.
The U.S. dollar's ascent against the Singapore dollar Friday was precipitated by the yen's fall and the release of domestic financial sector figures, traders and economists said, showing that Singapore banks had an aggregate exposure of S$35.8 billion -- or 14.5 percent of total assets -- to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea and the Philippines, as of Sept. 30, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
In North Asia, the U.S. dollar was trading at 32.422 new Taiwan dollars, down from NT$32.482 late Thursday but above NT$32.414 last Friday in late Asian trading. The U.S. dollar was also trading at 1,241 won, up a touch from 1,240 won late Thursday, but down from 1,261 won last Friday.
In late trading in Tokyo, the dollar was trading at 122.85-88 yen, up from 122.45-47 yen six hours earlier. The dollar traded at 122.16 yen in London and 121.91-94 yen here late Thursday.