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Indian rupee

BOMBAY; The Indian rupee ended Thursday slightly weaker amid dollar demand from foreign funds and stray import demand, dealers said.

The rupee ended at 43.625/63 per dollar against the previous close of 43.5975/6025, but off lows of 43.65 hit in some noon deals.

A European bank bought large dollar amounts and dealers said the purchases were for some foreign funds repatriating profits out of the country.

Dollar sales by state-run banks and a financial services firm helped the rupee recover from lows, they said.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: Indonesia's rupiah strengthened further on Thursday amid firmer regional currencies and with players adjusting their positions to reflect a perceived cooling in the stand-off between President Abdurrahman Wahid and General Wiranto.

The rupiah was quoted at 7,290/7,310 against the dollar after touching a high of 7,240 earlier in the day. It was quoted at 7,300/7,350 in late local trade on Wednesday.

"The rupiah hit a high of 7,240 this morning as players cut losses after the market broke the 7,300 area earlier in New York and London," one Japanese bank dealer said.

Dealers said trading volume remain thin, however.

They said offshore players, unlike onshore, had been very worried about a possibililty of a coup amid souring relations between the government and military, prompting them to build long dollar positions at the height of the stand-off last week.

Dealers said they were encouraged by President Abdurrahman Wahid's willingness to pardon former military chief General Wiranto for any possible wrongdoing in East Timor, but they were now awaiting Wiranto's decision on quitting the cabinet.

Bank Indonesia said 27.1 trillion rupiah in funds matured early on Thursday, while 20.7 trillion rupiah were settled.

The benchmark interbank overnight rate hovered around 9.5 percent for local banks and around 9.375 percent for foreign banks.-Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won closed higher against the dollar on Thursday as steady dollar inflows from foreign stock investors fanned short-dollar sentiment, dealers said.

The central Bank of Korea directly intervened in the afternoon to halt the won's steep rise, following a verbal intervention by the Ministry of Finance and Economy, they said.

The won closed at 1,120.8 per dollar against Wednesday's close of 1,123.0.

It opened at 1,123.0 and moved between 1,119,2 and 1,124.1.Dealers said the Bank of Korea began to buy dollars after a senior Finance Ministry official said in the afternoon the won's steep appreciation was not desirable for the country's economy.

The ministry official also said monetary authorities are closely watching movements of the dollar/won rate.

"Dollar selling pressure is tremendous because of heavy foreign stock buying," said a foreign bank dealer.

"But the Bank of Korea's direct intervention indicates that the 1,120 level will be defended."

Dealers said state-run banks, such as Korea Development Bank, have been buying dollars since the 1,129 level earlier this week.

"On Friday, the government may have to move back its defence line to around 1,116 as market players still think dollar inflows from foreign stock buying is the main market moving factor," said a local bank dealer.

Foreigners were net buyers of 310 billion won worth of stocks, including those in the Kosdaq over-the-counter market.

Foreign share buying in the past two days, including in Kosdaq trading, totalled a net 540 billion won, brokers said.

Dealers said the won's steep rise was limited by a Bank of Korea announcement of a 25 basis point rise in the overnight call rate.

The Bank of Korea's monetary policy board decided on Thursday to guide the overnight call rate, its key short-term interest rate, 25 basis points higher to about five percent.

High interest rates are believed to hurt corporate earnings and by extension stock markets. Foreign investors could thus withdraw funds from the stock market, converting the won into dollars.

In non-deliverable forward trading, the six-month won was quoted at 1,121/23 at the close, while the one-year won was 1,126.5/28.5.

The yen JPY rose slightly and was at 108.49/59 to the dollar against 108.77/80 in late Tokyo trading on Wednesday.-Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso settled higher against the dollar on Thursday due to inflows to the stock market and foreign direct equity investments.

Traders said stable regional currencies and scant dollar demand also boosted the peso.

The local unit ended at 40.39 to the dollar from the previous 40.46. It traded between 40.375 and 40.425 during the day.

Turnover remained heavy at $237.30 million but lower compared with the previous day's $260.50 million.

"There were inflows this morning," said one trader.

Another trader said his bank handled inflows of about $20 million for a local company.

A third trader said:"I heard there were also inflows into the equities market." On Wednesday, a trader said there were inflows meant for cash-strapped Philippine retail firm Uniwide Holdings, Inc

French retailer, Casino group, will be taking a controlling stake in Uniwide's warehouse club operations.

Traders said the inflows on Thursday were meant for other firms.

The local currency is expected to trade between 40.30 and 40.45 on Friday.-Reuters

Taiwanese dollar

TAIPEI: The Taiwan dollar advanced further against the U.S. dollar to a higher finish on Thursday, but a wave of U.S. dollar short-covering by foreign banks eroded some of the gains.

CLOSE: T$30.62 to the U.S. dollar, up from Wednesday's T$30.637 finish, but well below an intraday high of T$30.535

TURNOVER THROUGH DEALERS: Very heavy at US$707 million, though slower than Wednesday's US$837.5 million.

The Taiwan dollar opened stronger at T$30.582 to the U.S. dollar and kept on gaining upward momentum, hitting as high as T$30.535 in morning trade. It eased back to close at the day's low as foreign banks covered their short U.S. dollar positions.

On the smaller Cosmos market, the Taiwan unit ended at T$30.605 compared to Wednesday's close at T$30.613 with turnover edging up to US$196 million from US$186.5 million on Wednesday.

Dealers said persistent foreign fund inflows for the island's buoyant stock market were the main driving force behind the Taiwan dollar's uptrend.

Expectations for further foreign fund inflows would likely push the local currency to challenge a 2000 intraday peak of T$30.501 marked on January 4 in the near term.

Foreign funds bought a net T$7.671 billion in Taiwan equities on Thursday following a huge net buying of T$12.28 billion on Wednesday.

Dealers said the U.S. dollar's slight weakness against the Japanese yen overseas in the afternoon prompted some foreign banks to cover their short U.S. dollar positions, eroding the Taiwan dollar's gain.

The U.S. dollar fell to 108.5 yen from 108.8 in Tokyo afternoon trade.

For Friday, dealers expected a trading range of T$30.5-T$30.58 for the Taiwan dollar.-Reuters