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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended slightly firmer amid dollar supplies from foreign funds, dealers said.

The rupee ended at 43.5975/6025 per dollar, off highs of 43.5875 and against the previous close of 43.61/615.

Dealers reported good dollar supplies from foreign funds and stray direct investment flows while demand was mainly from state-run banks including the country's largest bank, the State Bank of India , which was a buyer towards the close of trading.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: The Indonesian rupiah edged down on Monday as offshore dollar demand from corporates hit the currency, but volume was thin.

The rupiah was quoted at 7,430/7,480 to the dollar compared with 7,400/7,430 in late local trade on Friday.

"The market is dead today and there were not many issues," said one foreign bank dealer

A U.S. bank dealer said any further rupiah weakness was seen as limited.

"Many players are already long on dollars. An immediate support area is seen at around 7,475," he said.

Another dealer said worries of higher inflation following an agreement between the government and parliament to raise electricity prices dampened sentiment on the rupiah.

Parliament and the government said late last week they had agreed to increase top end electricity prices an average of 29 percent from April 1.

Bank Indonesia said 5.4 trillion rupiah in funds matured early on Monday. 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 marginally higher against the dollar on Monday as optimism over China's foreign trade prospects prevailed after the official announcement of positive January trade data.

The yuan ended at 8.2770 to one U.S. dollar against 8.2772 on Friday after moving in a range of 8.2769 to 8.2783.

China had a trade surplus of $1.5 billion in January, up slightly from $1.49 billion for the same month last year, with January exports surging 47.8 percent year-on-year to $16.8 billion, official media said late last week.

"Optimism over foreign trade prospects prevailed the market, helping the yuan to remain strong," a local bank dealer said.

Foreign trade data, in particular the trade surplus, is crucial for the movements of the domestic currency as they decide foreign exchange supply on the market because the yuan is not convertible on the current account.

Despite expectations of further trade improvement, dealers said the yuan was unlikely to see solid gains in the near term 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 move at the top side of the range between 8.2770 and 8.2780 in the near term, they said.

The yuan closed lower against the Japanese yen at 7.5700 to 100 yen compared with 7.4650 on Friday. It ended slightly lower against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0638 to HK$1.0 from 1.0632. -Reuters

Taiwanese dollar

TAIPEI: The Taiwan dollar ended with solid gains on Monday as foreign equity funds maintained their buying streak and the U.S. dollar eased against major overseas currencies.

Dealers said heavy U.S. dollar buy orders by state-backed banks at the T$30.7 level showed the central bank was reluctant to let the local unit strengthen beyond that level.

CLOSE: T$30.707 to the U.S. dollar, advancing from Saturday's close at T$30.72. On the smaller Cosmos exchange, the Taiwan unit finished at T$30.7, edging up from Saturday's T$30.708.

TURNOVER THROUGH DEALERS: Relatively slow at US$229 million due to President's Day holiday in the United States. Turnover was US$62 million in the shortened Saturday session and US$347 million on Friday.

Cosmos turnover was US$68 million, expanding from US$12 million on Saturday's half-day session.

"Foreign funds continued to show net inflows even though the stock market fell more than two percent today," said one dealer at a foreign bank, referring to Monday's 2.44 percent fall in the key TAIEX index.

"Added with the pause in U.S. dollar's overseas gains, the Taiwan dollar was able to maintain its uptrend throughout most of the day," he said.

Foreign funds resumed net buying on Monday, acquiring T$2.125 billion in Taiwan stocks after selling T$29 million on Saturday.

One dealer at a major local bank said the central bank intervened via state-backed banks as soon as the Taiwan dollar reached T$30.69 in morning trade, trimming the local unit's advance.

"The central bank has kept the Taiwan dollar from rising above T$30.7 recently to prevent stop-loss U.S. dollar selling by exporters," she said.

Strong current account figures released after close of trade on Monday would support the Taiwan dollar, dealers said.

Taiwan's central bank said the island's current account balace was a US$1.475 surplus in the fourth quarter of 1999, beating market expectations of around US$1.3 billion.-Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won closed weaker against the greenback on Monday as offshore traders took advantage of steady government intervention to build up fresh long dollar positions, dealers said.

The won closed at 1,131.5, off an intraday low of 1,134.2.

It opened at 1,129.0, unchanged from Friday's close and rose as high as 1,127.1 in early morning trade.

"On steady offshore dollar buying, interbank operators who had eased positions to the 1,130 won level also hurriedly covered their dollar shorts," said a dealer at a foreign bank. Dealers said overseas traders purchased an estimated $200 million in dollars after they saw the government remain committed to capping the won's rise.

They said the Korea Development Bank and other state-run banks soaked up more than $100 million from the currency market on the day.Dealers said monetary authorities appear under pressure to cap the won as there are signs South Korea might post a trade deficit in February, after recording its first monthly shortfall in 27 months in January.

Robust growth in imports is overpowering rises in exports and dealers said authorities will likely restrain the won on concerns its further strength could harm export price competitiveness.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy said it sold 700 billion won worth of foreign exchange stabilisation bonds via an auction on Monday.

In Tokyo, the dollar eased against the yen in Tokyo, but its upward momentum was seen intact amid optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve would tighten credit only gradually to ensure a soft landing for the U.S. economy, dealers said.

The dollar stood at 110.65/0.67 yen, off a five-month high of 111.28 in New York on Friday. In Seoul, dealers said the U.S. unit would likely be pressured on Tuesday due to expected dollar inflows from the settlement of heavy foreign buying of local stocks last week.

Foreigners bought a net 401.2 billion won worth of shares on Friday, the Korea Stock Exchange said.

Dealers said they expected the won to move between 1,129 and 1,135 on Tuesday.

The six-month non-deliverable forward (NDF) won retreated to 1,135/ versus 1,128/30 late Friday.

The one-year won also lost ground with quotes at 1,140/42 against 1,133/35.-Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso ended soft against the dollar on Monday as regional currencies such as the yen and the baht stayed weak.

The local unit ended at 40.68 from the close of 40.67 on Friday. It reached 40.715 in the first hour of trade, but later retraced some lost ground due to weak dollar demand.

"The dollar/yen is still closer to 111 and the dollar/baht is still above 38. There's no incentive to stay with pesos, since domestic factors aren't also very encouraging," a dealer at a local bank said.

Dealers said the slight increase in Treasury bill rates at Monday's auction also signalled government's reluctance to raise domestic rates despite the likelihood of a hike in U.S. interest rates.

"The government did raise T-bill rates but it's still very low and they did not give a full award, so the effort is half-hearted," another dealer said.

"They still want (the rates) to remain low despite the possibility of higher U.S. rates."

The benchmark 91-day Treasury bill rate was flat at 8.794 percent against 8.79 percent last week.

The 182-day bill rate came in at 9.484 percent from the previous 9.468 percent, while the 364-day bill rate came in at 10.384 from 10.367 percent.

Dealers said the general softness of regional currencies would deter the peso from appreciating.

"It would take large inflows of dollars to correct the peso. In the meantime, with the interest rates in the U.S., you'd still want to buy dollars," the first dealer said.

"There's no confidence on the peso. It's foolhardy to be short on dollars with low peso interest rates and higher dollar rates,"other dealer said.

The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee is expected to decide on March 21 whether or not to raise interest rates to prevent the U.S. economy from overheating.

Dealers said market expectations on the Fed hike ranged from 25 basis points to 50 basis points.

They placed the peso's immediate trading range at 40.60 to 40.75 on Tuesday.-Reuters