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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended slightly firm against the dollar on Monday amid heavy dollar supplies.

Dealers reported early dollar sales from some European banks and said demand for dollars was mainly from a large financial services firm and some state-run banks.

The rupee ended at 43.6075/6125 against its previous close on Friday at 43.62/6225 per dollar and compared with its opening level of 43.62/625.

Some dealers reported dollar inflows from a software firm which recently raised equity overseas.

"In the afternoon, it was mostly dull trading," a broker said.

Forward premiums ended steady and dealers said near-term premiums had a soft bias while trading in the longer maturities was lacklustre.

The six-month premium ended unchanged at an annualised 2.75 percent.-Reuters

SHANGHAI: China's yuan ended flat at 8.2796 against the US dollar on Monday in light trade.

The yuan briefly hit an intraday low of 8.2819 in early trade, expanding its fluctuation to a range of 29 basis points above 8.2790, compared with 8.2791 to 8.2797 in the previous session.

Dealers said the intraday low was not very significant and they saw no obvious evidence of central bank intervention to bring the yuan back to its usual range between 8.2770 and 8.2800.

"Only one deal was done above 8.2800, so the price did not represent the overall market trend," said a dealer at a local bank.

Dealers said, however, that dollar demand still showed signs of picking up and the slight upward trend was likely due to China's rising imports.

China is due to release its foreign trade statistics for the first quarter of this year in mid-April and some dealers expect strong imports could put gradual downside pressure on the yuan.

China's imports soared 54.2 percent year-on-year in the first two months of this year to $28.69 billion while exports surged 41.2 percent to $31.57 billion, official figures showed.

The yuan eased against the Japanese yen to 7.9509 to 100 yen from 7.9310 on Friday. It crawled up against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0626 from 1.0634. -Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won closed weaker against the dollar on Monday as banks hurriedly bought dollars toward the close to pay interest on their foreign debts, dealers said.

The won closed at 1,109.4 compared with on Friday's close of 1,107.1.

It opened at 1,108.0 and moved between 1,106.1 and 1,110.0.

"On the back of dollar-buying intervention via state banks, commercial banks rushed to buy dollars toward the end of the day to prepare to pay interest on foreign debts due today," said a local bank dealer. He said the won's weakness on Monday was out of step with its recent trend, caused by steady dollar sales by foreign investors entering the local stock market, and could change course as early as on Tuesday.

In early trade, the won strengthened, nearing a 28-month high at around 1,106, weighed by strong won sentiment carried over from last week.

But it reversed course, weakening against the dollar by the end of the morning session as players who believed the dollar had been oversold began to cover their short positions, spurred by steady dollar buying by state-operated banks.

Dollar sentiment was also emboldened slightly by the yen's losses versus the greenback, dealers said.

In Tokyo, the dollar jumped to a week-high above 106 yen as players were reluctant to hold the Japanese currency ahead of the G7 meeting this week.

The yen was trading at 106.06/6. compared with 105.36 in late New York overnight.

Dealers said news that South and North Korea would hold an historic summit on June 12-14 helped boost won sentiment, but did not affect dollar supply and demand.

"Over the longer-term, news of improved inter-Korean relations could help raise South Korea's credit ratings, resulting in more dollars coming into the nation," said Oh Suk-tae, an economist at Citibank in Seoul.

The won is expected to move between 1,106 and 1,110 on Tuesday. -Reuters

Taiwanese dollar

TAIPEI: The Taiwan dollar finished at a fresh 29-month high on Monday as strong expectations of a further uptrend prompted foreign banks to sell their down US dollar positions, dealers said.

CLOSE: T$30.302 to the US dollar, up from on Saturday's T$30.36 finish. The Taiwan dollar had not been higher since October 23, 1997 when it closed at T$30.230. On the smaller Cosmos market the Taiwan dollar ended even higher at T$30.287 against its on Saturday close of T$30.384.

TURNOVER THROUGH DEALERS: Very heavy at US$633 million, well above on Saturday's US$364 million. Cosmos turnover rose to US$139 million from US$45 million on Saturday. -Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso ended flat against the dollar on Monday as banks opted to maintain long dollar positions despite weak demand from corporates.

Dealers said banks were inclined to keep their dollars because investor sentiment on the Philippines remained poor.

The peso ended at 41.105 per dollar, the same closing level as Friday. It ranged from 41.092 to 41.135. Turnover rose slightly to $132.5 million from $128.6 million.

"The market is still not confident with what is happening in the government, that's why I think it's staying above 41," said a dealer with a local bank. -Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: Indonesia's rupiah edged up further on Monday as sentiment improved after a planned strike by Jakarta bus owners fizzled out.

There had been worries the strike could spark unrest in the capital. The planned strike failed to kick in on Monday as some owners were reported to have agreed to call it off after a meeting with city officials on Sunday night.

The local unit stood at 7,640/7,660 to the dollar against 7,685/7,715 in late local trade on Friday.

Dealers, however, said trade was thin amid uncertainties over an International Monetary Fund loan disbursement and results of a meeting in Paris this week of the country's foreign creditors.

"There was some offshore dollar selling, mostly from Singapore-based players, pushing up the rupiah to a high of 7,640, but trade remained thin," one large local bank dealer said.

Dealers said any fresh unrest could put further pressure on the rupiah, already hurt by a delay in the disbursement of a $400 million IMF loan to Indonesia.

The IMF had delayed the disbursement due to disappointment at the poor implementation of a letter of intent agreed with the fund in January.

Dealers said the dollar was likely to be well-bid at 7,600 area, particularly from local corporates. They said resistance for the rupiah was seen at 7,750.

Bank Indonesia said 9.3 trillion in rupiah funds matured early on Monday. The benchmark rupiah overnight interbank rate hovered around 9.50 percent for most local banks and around 9.375 percent for foreign banks. -Reuters