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Indian rupee ends off lows, premia up on high call

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee recovered from lows to end Thursday slightly weaker compared to its previous close while forward premiums rose in sympathy with high call money rates, dealers said.

The rupee ended at 43.6125/6175 per dollar against Wednesday's close of 43.5975/6025, but off lows of 43.6275 hit in opening deals.

Dealers said the rupee opened weaker adjusting for the weekend carry costs, but high call money rates during the day kept activity among banks subdued.

"There was very little corporate activity. Banks were definitely sitting short dollars, but with the spot date for today and tomorrow the same, there was no rush to cover those," a dealer at a foreign bank said.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: The Indonesian rupiah was steady in slow trade on Thursday following offshore dollar selling.

The rupiah was quoted at 7,390/7,420 to the dollar compared with 7,390/7,420 in late local trade on Wednesday.

"The rupiah has been largely steady today, helped by offshore dollar selling, with around 7,420 seeming to be a strong support area," one European bank dealer said.

The dealer said trading remained mostly at the 7,300 level as players awaited U.S. Fed chairman Alan Greenspan's speech, but they said any rise in U.S. interest rates would have a limited effect on Indonesia.

"Indonesia is a different case, it's coming out of a crisis and it has got significant slack in the economy, which will continue to (suppress) inflationary factors," an analyst said.

Bank Indonesia said 21.5 trillion rupiah in funds matured early on Thursday, while 16 trillion rupiah was settled. The benchmark overnight interbank rate remained largely stable, hovering at 9.375 percent for foreign banks and 9.5 percent for local banks.-Reuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: China's yuan closed slightly higher against the dollar in thin trade on Thursday as domestic banks did some light buying on expectations of strong January trade data, dealers said.

The yuan ended at 8.2770 to one U.S. dollar against 8.2776 on Wednesday after moving in a range between 8.2735 and 8.2776.

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

"Some domestic banks bought as they believed the January trade data were strong," a local bank dealer said.

The expectations centred on a possible solid foreign trade surplus, he said.

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.

Despite Thursday's rise, dealers said the yuan was unlikely to stage further gains as it had already reached high levels.

The market is tightly controlled by the People's Bank of China, the central bank, a key market member which has helped keep the yuan in a narrow range between 8.2770 and 8.2800 in the past few months, dealers said.

The yuan was likely to continue to move in the range over the near term, they said.

The yuan closed slightly higher against the Japanese yen at 7.5400 to 100 yen compared with 7.5708 on Wednesday.

It ended almost unchanged against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0632 to HK$1.0 from 1.0633.-Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won closed lower against the dollar on Thursday due to the yen's slide and the government's dollar-buying intervention, dealers said.

The won closed at 1,128.0 per dollar against Wednesday's close of 1,125.7.

It opened at 1,127.4 and moved between 1,125.7 and 1,130.State-run banks were seen buying dollars throughout the day and the Finance Ministry sought to back those efforts with verbal intervention in the afternoon, dealers said.

They said the ministry acted after seeing the yen's tumble to five-month lows versus the dollar in the 110 yen range was having little impact on the feisty won.

The yen fell to 110.09/15 per dollar against 109.00/03 in late Tokyo trading on Wednesday.

The Japanese currency came under intense pressure after Moody's Investors Service put Japan's sovereign debt rating under review for a possible downgrade.

Dealers forecast the won would range from 1,124 to 1,131 on Friday in similar trading.

In January, leading foreign creditors agreed to accept 39-40 percent of the collection rate on debt owed to them by four Daewoo affiliates, including Daewoo Corp

Under the agreement, local banks would buy $4.84 billion in non-secured loans at that discount rate.

In non-deliverable forward trading, the six-month won stood at 1,129/30 against Wednesday's close of 1,125.5/27, while the one-year won was at 1,133.5/34.0 against 1,129.5/31.5. -Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA:The Philippine peso PHP posted its lowest close in two weeks on Thursday due to weaker regional currencies and the slide in the stock market.

Shares prices broke through a major support level on Thursday as investor sentiment deteriorated after a Philippine Stock Exchange unit found sufficient evidence of insider trading and price manipulation in the shares of gaming firm BW Resource Corp BW.PS.

The peso ended at 40.57 to the dollar against Wednesday's 40.50. It traded within a tight band, reaching an intra-day low of 40.595 and a high of 40.525. Regional currencies wilted against the dollar after Moody's Investors Service placed Japan's domestic yen debt under review for a possible downgrade.

A testimony by U.S. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan later today also kept the market on edge, with traders expecting hints of a possible U.S. rate hike next month.

"That (U.S. rate hike) would mean that dollar assets would carry a bigger yield with peso interest rates still low. That would put pressure on the dollar/peso," said a trader from a local bank.

Philippine central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said the bank was unlikely to change its overnight rates next week. The bank's overnight borrowing rate is currently at 8.75 percent and lending at 11 percent.

Traders said the peso will likely trade with a weaker bias on Friday, ranging from 40.45 to 40.65.-Reuters