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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended steady against the dollar on Tuesday after mostly trading in a tight band throughout the day, dealers said.

The rupee ended at 43.61/6125 per dollar against the previous close of 43.6075/61.

"It was a very dull day with trading in a very narrow band," a broker said.

"Early on, there was some dollar demand must be for cash remittances. But there has been selling by exporters as well. Net-net, it has been a case of more (dollar) selling than buying," a dealer at a foreign bank said.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: Indonesia's rupiah edged up on Tuesday as some players liquidated long dollar positions taken at the height of the country's political uncertainty late last week.

"Players are expecting the current political tension surrounding Wiranto to ease after Aburrahman Wahid said he would pardon the general," one foreign bank dealer said.

But dealers said the rupiah was unlikely to break the psychological barrier of 7,300 this week due to the political uncertainty.

The rupiah was quoted at 7,410/7,430 against the dollar compared with 7,480/7,520 in late local trade on Monday.

"Many players are already long on dollars. Some may have to cut losses as they had bought dollars above the 7,500 level last week. I heard one corporate is set to sell huge amount of dollars," another bank dealer said.

Dealers said political tension surrounding the souring relationship between Wahid and security minister Wiranto was expected to ease following Wahid's comments during an overseas trip that he would pardon him for any wrongdoing in East Timor.

Dealers said the IMF's approval for a $5 billion three-year loan package to Indonesia late last week, as part of its multi-billion dollar rescue for the crisis-hit country, also helped sentiment on the rupiah.

Wiranto has defied repeated demands from Wahid, overseas on official business, to quit after an official investigation implicated him in last year's violence in East Timor.

Bank Indonesia said 6.36 trillion rupiah funds matured early on Tuesday. 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 nearly unchanged on Tuesday as dollar sales were spurred by heavy foreign buying of local stocks, erasing early losses that arose as the yen wilted to a five-month low against the greenback, dealers said.

The won closed at 1,129.3 per dollar against Monday's close of 1,129.2.

It opened at a low of 1,134.5 and rose as high as 1,127.5. "Expectations of dollar inflows this week as a result of heavy foreign stock buying stopped market players from buying dollars in the wake of the yen's slide against the dollar," said a local bank dealer.

Dealers said won-dollar trading would be stuck in a narrow range on Wednesday as the yen's weakness and foreign stock buying were expected to continue for the time being. Foreign investors bought a net 218.5 billion won worth of local stocks on Tuesday, with foreign buying on the Kosdaq over-the-counter market hitting a record high 146.7 billion won.

Late in the day, an official at the Bank of Korea said the won's appreciation as the yen weakens was not desirable for Korean exporters.

The official said the central bank was closely watching the currency market.

Dealers said dollar-buying intervention was not seen on Tuesday but it was possible anytime below the won/dollar rate of 1,129.

"If the central bank's verbal intervention is heeded, then the won's steep fall is possible because the yen's tumble has yet to be reflected," said a foreign bank dealer.

The dollar powered to a fresh five-month high against the yen in late Tokyo on Tuesday as the yen struggled amid growing worry over the outlook for Japan's economy, dealers said.

The greenback climbed as high as 109.45 yen and was quoted at 109.35/38 yen compared with Monday's U.S. close of 108.67 yen.-Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso ended firmer on Tuesday as banks squared off long dollar positions and exporters cashed in on the dollar's early gains.

Dealers said corporates began unloading dollars when the peso opened lower at 40.62 in reaction to the early weakness of the Japanese yen and the Thai baht.

The peso finished at 40.49 to the dollar from the close of 40.525 on Wednesday. It ranged from 40.47 to 40.63 during the day. Volume rose to $230.9 million from $171 million.-Reuters

Taiwanese dollar

TAIPEI: The Taiwan dollar ended stronger on Tuesday, the first day of post-Lunar New Year trade, shrugging off yen declines as foreign equity funds bought the local unit in preparation for Wednesday's stock market open.

CLOSE: T$30.734 to the U.S. dollar, advancing from Thursday's close at T$30.788. Local foreign exchange markets were closed from February 4-7 for the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.

TURNOVER THROUGH DEALERS: Relatively active at US$406 million, expanding from Thursday's US$268.5 million

Dealers said they saw heavy inflows from foreign equity funds even though Taiwan's stock market does not open until Wednesday. The Taiwan Stock Exchange does not require settlement until two days after a transaction.

"Foriegn funds may have bought early to get a better price because there were expectations of heavy fund inflows tommorrow," one foreign bank dealer said.

The Taiwan dollar opened weaker at T$30.8 and fell to a day low of T$30.831 on the back of a weak Japanese yen before reversing course in mid-morning.

The Japanese yen was around 109.4 to the U.S. dollar in late Tokyo trade on Tuesday, near its five-month low of 109.46 and well below levels near 108.05 reached in late Asian trade on Thursday, the Taiwan dollar's previous trading session.

Dealers said foreign funds would continue to support the Taiwan dollar in the next few sessions.

"Even if the yen returns to 110 to the U.S. dollar, the Taiwan would not fall any lower than T$30.75," another dealer at a foreign bank said.

Dealers said they detected only slight central bank intervention to smooth the Taiwan dollar's gains.

On the smaller Cosmos exchange, the Taiwan dollar ended at its day high of T$30.72 against Thursday's T$30.788 finish. Cosmos turnover was US$85 million, roughly even with US$84 million on Thursday.-Reuters