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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended slightly firm on Wednesday, off early lows, on dollar sales by some foreign banks, dealers said.

The rupee ended at 43.52/525 per dollar against the previous close of 43.5275/5325, and off lows of 43.535 hit in early trade.

"The dollar was slightly bid in the morning. But there was enough supply from some foreign banks after that," a broker said.

"By afternoon, the market had turned quiet with trading stuck in a tight range," a dealer at a foreign bank said.ÑReuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: The Indonesian rupiah continued its downward trend on Wednesday amid concerns over violence in the countryÕs troublespots.

The rupiah was quoted at 7,250/7,300 against the dollar compared with 7,200/7,250.

"There seems to be no good news from the domestic front. The recent weakening in regional currencies has also dampened sentiment. But so far most of the deals are made by corporate customers, not speculators," one foreign bank dealer said.

The dealer said the rupiah hit a low of 7,280/7,310 earlier in the day, but rebounded slightly following some dollar selling particularly from Hong Kong players.

Dealers said the rupiah was stay under pressure amid concerns over continuing violence in the spice islands and the restive province of Aceh.

But they added players were getting used to regular violence in IndonesiaÕs troublespots and it would take major bloodshed to seriously rock the market.

Another dealer said a support level for the rupiah was seen at 7,300, while 7,200 was seen as a strong resistance area.

Meanwhile, Indonesian money market liquidity was ample as Bank Indonesia released 7.3 trillion rupiah into the system earlier on Wednesday. The overnight interbank rate was largely unchanged, hovering at around 9.5 percent.ÑReuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: ChinaÕs yuan closed slightly lower against the dollar in slow trade on Wednesday as demand for the yuan remained thin in the new year, dealers said.

The yuan finished at an intraday low of 8.2797 to one U.S. dollar against 8.2795 on Tuesday. It touched a high of 8.2795.

The Shanghai-based China Foreign Exchange Trade System does not post trading volumes, but turnover was $31.46 billion last year, the official Shanghai News said on Wednesday.

That was down sharply from $51.96 billion in 1998, official statistics showed. Daily average turnover was $125 million last year against $205 million in 1998.

Dealers said the fall reflected the marketÕs reduced role after financial reforms last year which allowed both domestic and foreign banks to meet their currency needs elsewhere.

The yuan was likely to move in a narrow range of 8.2790 to 8.2800 in the short term with no fresh news in sight, dealers said.

The yuan has been under pressure from worries that ChinaÕs entry to the World Trade Organisation, expected later this year, would lead to faster growth in imports, they said.

But it was supported by a steady inflow of foreign exchange from ChinaÕs trade surplus, which was estimated at $30 billion last year, dealers said.

The yuan closed lower against the Japanese yen at 7.8290 to 100 yen against 7.8190 on Tuesday. It ended almost unchanged against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0638 to HK$1.0 from 1.0640. ÑReuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won closed slightly higher on Wednesday after profit taking on the dollar and stop-loss dollar sales outweighed early short-cover dollar buying, dealers said.

Comments by an International Monetary Fund official who said South Korean authorities are not seeking to alter the trend of the won helped fan stop-loss dollar sales towards the close, they said.

The won closed at 1,144.5 per dollar against TuesdayÕs close of 1,145.0.

It opened at 1,154 and moved between 1,142 and 1,155.

Foreign investorsÕ buying of stocks despite a tumble in the countryÕs benchmark stock index also helped dampen sentiment for the dollar, dealers said.

Foreigners were net buyers of 163 billion won worth of stocks on Wednesday.

"Basically, market players seem to feel uncomfortable with the won-dollar rate above 1,150," said a local bank dealer. "As the won hit its day low of 1,155, exporters rushed to sell dollars to take profits."

The yenÕs fall against the dollar also dragged down the won in early trading, but the Japanese currencyÕs influence waned as it recovered close to TuesdayÕs levels.

The yen fell to 105.82/89 from 105.57/60 in late Tokyo trading on Tuesday.Dealers said the market would remain volatile on Thursday with the marketÕs direction in the mist, especially after comments by Hubert Neiss, the IMFÕs Asia-Pacific director.

The ministry has said the wonÕs appreciation is not desirable in the time of economic recovery as it could hurt export price competitiveness at a time when the economy is still recovering from the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

It has repeatedly vowed action to stabilise the currency market.

Dealers said the won looked undervalued at the moment in view of the countryÕs rapid economic recovery, high levels of foreign exchange reserves and current account surplus. In the non-deliverable forward market, the six-month won closed the morning at 1,145/47, while the one-year won was quoted at 1,152/54.ÑReuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso ended higher on Wednesday as some banks took profits from the dollarÕs early strength.

The peso ended at 40.58 to the dollar from the close of 40.67 on Tuesday.

Offshore dollar demand brought the peso to its day-low of 40.90. Local banks with long dollar positions then decided to take profits at this level.

"There was no legitimate corporate demand (for dollars) so banks decided to cut short their long positions," a dealer with a local bank said. Dealers said talk of central bank intervention to prevent the peso from reaching 41 per dollar also fuelled dollar-selling.

Governor Rafael Buenaventura on Wednesday denied the central bank was in the market, saying the early peso weakness was in line with regional currencies beaten by expectations that U.S. interest rates would rise.

"There was no intervention at all. ItÕs an over-reaction to a possible hike in U.S. interest rates and general weakening of regional currencies. There was no real corporate demand," Buenaventura told reporters.

But dealers said the talk of intervention helped bring the peso to its intra-day high of 40.51 per dollar.

"At least, many banks are square. They canÕt go long because the central bank might intervene, they canÕt go short because regional currencies are still weak," another dealer said.

The peso was seen to range from 40.50 to 40.75 on Thursday. If broken, the market could test the 40.30 to 41.00 range, dealers said.ÑReuters

Taiwanese dollar

TAIPEI: The Taiwan dollar ended a touch weaker on Wednesday despite strong support from foreign equity funds as the central bank guided the Taiwan unit lower in line with the sliding Japanese yen, dealers said.

CLOSE: T$30.828 against the U.S. dollar, a touch weaker than TuesdayÕs close at T$30.821

TURNOVER THROUGH DEALERS: Active at T$486 million, even larger than TuesdayÕs US$458.5 million.

Dealer said the central bank signalled its intention of capping the Taiwan dollar despite strong U.S. dollar selling by knocking the unit to its day low of T$30.912 in the first transaction of WednesdayÕs session.

The Taiwan dollar was also feeling pressure from a slide in the Japanese yen, which was trading below 106 to the dollar in late Tokyo on Wednesday, compared with 105.3 in late Tokyo on Tuesday and around 101.5 near the beginning of 2000, dealers said."After the Taiwan dollar opened about nine cents lower, many traders speculated that the central bank did not want to see the Taiwan dollar move independently stronger after recent yen depreciation," said a dealer at a major domestic bank.

The Taiwan dollar had looked set to close in positive territory after U.S. dollar selling by foreign equity fundsÕ took the local unit to a T$30.78 high, but dealers said the central bank dragged the unit lower in the last minute.

"Taiwan stocks have been strongly bullish recently, and they should offer some downside support to the Taiwan dollar," said one dealer at another domestic bank.ÑReuters