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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended little changed on Friday against the dollar on the weekend, recovering from early lows hit on import demand, dealers said.

The rupee ended at 43.605/61 per dollar compared with Thursday's close at 43.5975/605.

State-run banks bought dollars to fund fertilizer imports earlier in the day, pushing the rupee to lows around 43.62, but limited volumes kept trade within tight ranges, they said.

The forward market was active but saw little movement amid a lot of paying interest (sell-buy swaps) to cash in on the low premiums and a lack of counterparties to receive premiums at these levels, they said.

Premiums dropped sharply on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Bimal Jalan said a low inflation and the growth in the business cycle justified a reduction in interest rates.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: Indonesia's rupiah recovered some ground on Friday but dealers said it was largely due to position squaring ahead of the weekend and that the outlook for the currency, hit by political concerns, remained weak.

The rupiah has come under pressure all week on worries over the standoff between President Abdurrahman Wahid and former military chief General Wiranto.

Wiranto has refused Wahid's demand that he step down from the cabinet after he was incriminated in a report on the violence last year in East Timor when it was still under Indonesian rule.

The rupiah was quoted at 7,475/7,525 against the dollar compared with 7,635/7,655 in late local trade on Thursday.

"Trading volume was quite thin. Most of the players today were locals as the Singapore market opened only for half a day before the Chinese New Year," said one dealer from a Japanese-owned bank.

Dealers said the short-term outlook for the rupiah remains weak because of lingering worries over the tension between Wahid and Wiranto.

Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said on Friday that Wiranto was expected to quit when Wahid returns from his overseas trip on February 13.

Dealers said that most players would stay out of the market until the issue was resolved.-Reuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: China's yuan ended nearly unchanged in thin trade on Friday, the last trading day before the long Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, dealers said.

The yuan closed at 8.2781 to one US dollar against 8.2780 on Thursday.

"There were almost no transactions due to the upcoming holiday," said a dealer at a foreign bank.

The China Foreign Exchange Trade System will be closed from Saturday to February 11 for the holiday. Trading will resume on February 12.

Transactions conducted on Friday will be settled after the holiday, making banks reluctant to build positions, dealers said.

The yuan was likely to fall slightly after the holiday on technical selling following rises in the past two weeks, they said.

The yuan closed higher against the Japanese yen at 7.6000 to 100 yen against 7.6900 on Thursday. It ended unchanged against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0530 to HK$1.0. -Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: South Korea's won/dollar market was closed on Friday for the three-day lunar New Y

ear holidays. Trading resumes on Monday.

The won ended a touch higher against the dollar on Thursday as players squaring positions ahead of lunar New Year holidays outweighed direct dollar-buying intervention led by the central bank, dealers said.

The won closed the day at 1,130.0 compared with on Wednesday's close of 1,130.5. It opened at 1,131.0 and moved between 1,127.4 and 1,131.5.-Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso closed near its day high on Friday with banks long on dollars unloading greenbacks in afternoon trade with the lack of corporate demand at the start of Lunar New Year holidays in the region.

The peso finished at 40.52 to the dollar against its previous close of 40.675. It traded between 40.645 to 40.505 during the session from its open at 40.61. "We expect very little activity from foreign banks with the holidays. Commercials at this level are few. You can expect a thin market," said a trader from a local bank.

However, dollar demand may pick up towards noon if banks, which sold dollars near the 40.70 level on Thursday, square their positions, traders said.

The central bank had said it was unlikely short-term interest rates would be raised following the 25 basis point hike in US rates.

The peso is expected to range from 40.55 to 40.70 in the near term, traders said.-Reuters