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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended Tuesday little changed against the dollar while premiums were up in choppy trade after the central bank's open market operations squeezed liquidity in the money market, dealers said.

Dealers said but for some light buying by a few state-run banks, the dollar was mostly offered throughout the day as banks got out of long positions after the money market tightnened.

The rupee ended at 43.6125/6175 per dollar compared with its previous close of 43.615/62, after mostly trading a 43.61-43.63 range.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: The Indonesian rupiah edged down in thin trade on Tuesday on corporate dollar selling as players awaited further developments after President Abdurrahman Wahid dumped former military chief General Wiranto from the cabinet.

The rupiah was quoted at 7,285/7,325 to the dollar compared with 7,240/7,270 in late local trade on Monday.

"Some short dollar players are adjusting their positions as 7,250 area seemed to be too hard to break. The trading range is likely to remain between 7,200 to 7,300 on Wednesday," one foreign bank dealer said.

Another dealer said Wiranto's suspension from the cabinet was expected to strengthen the rupiah as it would ease political tension over the middle term.

But he said higher corporate dollar demand due to an increase in economic activity was likely to make it harder for the rupiah to hit 7,000 in near term.

Finance Minister Bambang Sudibyo on Monday said he expected the rupiah to strengthen to 6,000-7,000 against the dollar in the wake of Wiranto's suspension.

Wahid suspended the former military chief Wiranto from cabinet just hours after saying he could stay as coordinating minister for political and security affairs pending in investigation of the military's role in last year's bloodshed in East Timor.-Reuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: China's yuan closed slightly higher against the dollar in thin trade on Tuesday due to light buying by local banks on expectations that China's January trade data would show a strong surplus, dealers said.

The yuan ended at 8.2775 to one U.S. dollar against 8.2778 on Monday after moving in a narrow range of 8.2774 and 8.2780.

The government is expected to announce January's trade data this week.

"Domestic banks conducted some light buying as they expected the January trade data to show a strong trade surplus," said a local bank dealer.

A strong trade surplus would ensure a steady inflow of foreign exchange onto the market as China's yuan is not convertible on the current account, dealers said.

They said the January trade figures would be the key factor in the yuan's movement in the near term.

If the data showed strong exports and a solid trade surplus, the yuan would move around the 8.2780 level. Otherwise, it would fall slightly to around 8.2800, they said.

The yuan closed lower against the Japanese yen at 7.7225 to 100 yen compared with 7.6090 on Monday. It ended down marginally against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0632 to HK$1.0 from 1.0630. -Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won closed stronger against the dollar on Tuesday as profit-takers sold dollars in the wake of dollar supportive intervention on Monday, dealers said.

"Profit-taking emerged as the dollar surged," said a local bank dealer said. "But fears of dollar-buying intervention limited dollar sales at around the 1,125 level."

The won closed at 1,127.0 per dollar against Monday's close of 1,128.0.

It opened at 1,130.2 and moved between 1,125.2 and 1,130.8. Foreigners were net sellers of about 50 billion won worth of stocks in the morning, including shares listed on the Kosdaq, in sharp contrast with foreign net buying that averaged 250 billion won a day last week.

The yen was down to 108.65/75 per dollar by 0329 against 108.30/33 in late Tokyo trading on Monday.

In non-deliverable forward trading, the six-month won stood at 1,128.5/30.0 against Monday's close of 1,127.0/28.0, while the one-year won was unchanged at 1,132/34.-Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso finished at its day-low on Tuesday after some corporate dollar demand came in afternoon trade and prompted some banks to cover short dollar positions, traders said.

The peso finished at 40.43 to the dollar against its Monday close of 40.375. It rose to a high of 40.36 before dollar demand came in at the 40.38 level.

"There were no significant flows, the market is just square to a little long (on dollars), and they don't want to sell (dollars) aggressively. Banks are just waiting for commercial demand," said a trader from a local bank.

Traders said the peso was likely to range from 40.43 to 40.30 for the rest of the session.

"The bias for the peso is to go higher with weak corporate (dollar) demand," said a trader from a foreign bank.-Reuters