By Kevin Yao
SINGAPORE, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies drifted
lower on Wednesday as the dollar held firm against major
currencies, with a continued slide in the South Korean won
sparking suspected official intervention.
The won <KRW=> initially slipped to 1,158.7 per dollar, down
2 percent from Tuesday's domestic close and a four-year low, but
pared the losses after the authorities were spotted in the market
selling dollars.
The won has lost more than 5 percent this week alone as
investors dumped Korean assets amid market concerns that an
unusually high volume of foreign-held government bonds maturing
next week would trigger a huge capital flight.
Sellers were bolstered by a market view that authorities
would not intervene aggressively in order to avoid hurting
exporters and prevent a deeper drain on the country's foreign
currency reserves.
Standard Chartered Bank said it expected the won to weaken
further to 1,180 by the end of September before recovering to
1,130 by the end of 2008, cutting its forecast from 1,030 and
990, respectively.
"Without some very strong action, the present weakening in
the won looks likely continue for the next few weeks," analysts
at the bank said in note.
The Malaysian ringgit <MYR=> hit a one-year low at 3.4430 per
dollar, down about half of a percent.
"The dollar's firmness against other Asian currencies make
dollar/ringgit biddish," said a trader in Kuala Lumpur.
The Indonesian rupiah <IDR=> fell a quarter of a percent to a
three-week low at 9,218 against the dollar, which soared to a
11-month high against a basket of major currencies <.DXY> amid
concerns about the global economic outlook.
The dollar hit a seven-month high against the euro <EUR=> and
2-½ year high against the sterling <GBP=D4> ahead of monetary
policy decisions by both the European Central Bank and the Bank
of England on Thursday. [ID:nL1358323] [ID:nL2593052]
THAI INTERVENTION
Bucking the wider trend, the Thai baht <THB=TH> rose to 34.30
per dollar, up 0.6 percent from its one-year low at 34.52 hit on
on Tuesday, as the central bank stepped into the market again to
prop up the local currency.
"Today we have taken care of the baht a bit. Markets had been
alarmed yesterday after the imposition of emergency rule,"
central bank Assistant Governor Suchada Kirakul told reporters.
The currency fell on Tuesday after the country's prime
minister declared a state of emergency in Bangkok following
clashes between his supporters and anti-government protesters.
One Bangkok-based trader said he believed the baht was also
supported on Wednesday by profit-taking on the dollar.
The Singapore dollar <SGD=>, meanwhile, fell to 1.4401 to the
U.S. dollar, its weakest level in almost eight months.
Elsewhere, the Chinese yuan <CNY=CFXS> was down nearly 0.3
percent to a two-week low at 6.8595 per dollar.
The yuan is still 6.7 percent up against the dollar this
year, but most other Asian currencies have lost ground after a
wave of selling triggered by fears of the global credit crisis,
high inflation and, lately, global economic downturn.
The won, the worst performer in Asia, has lost 18.5 percent
against the dollar this year.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0816 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 108.90 108.51 -0.36
Sing dlr 1.4373 1.4306 -0.47
Taiwan dlr 31.835 31.750 -0.27
Korean won 1147.90 1132.90 -1.31
Baht 34.45 34.48 +0.09
Peso 46.73 46.60 -0.28
Rupiah 9202.00 9195.00 -0.08
Rupee 44.43 44.43 +0.00
Ringgit 3.4355 3.4250 -0.31
Yuan 6.8470 6.8397 -0.11
Change so far in 2008
Currency Latest bid End prev year Pct Move
Japan yen 108.90 111.33 +2.23
Sing dlr 1.4373 1.4382 +0.06
Taiwan dlr 31.835 32.443 +1.91
Korean won 1147.90 935.70 -18.49
Baht 34.45 33.68 -2.24
Peso 46.73 41.28 -11.66
Rupiah 9202.00 9390.00 +2.04
Rupee 44.43 39.41 -11.30
Ringgit 3.4355 3.3050 -3.80
Yuan 6.8470 7.3041 +6.68
(Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
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Double click on brackets for following items:
Asian currencies <AFX=> Asian currencies in Asia <AFX=A>
Malaysian ringgit <MYRX=> Indonesian rupiah <IDRX=>
Singapore dollar <SGDX=> Thai baht <THBX=>
Taiwan dollar <TWDX=> Hong Kong dollar <HKDX=>
Philippine peso <PHP=> Korean won <KRW=>
SPEED GUIDES <MONEY> <ASEAN=>
Exotic currencies <EXOTIC/1> Non-G7 currencies <CCY/1>
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Keywords: MARKETS ASIA FOREX