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Indian rupee.

BOMBAY: The rupee ended weaker on Monday but off lows, as State Bank of India (SBI) turned dollar seller to raise the Indian currency off a 16-month low, dealers said.

"It is probably at the behest of the central bank, but I expect demand for dollars to remain tomorrow," a senior dealer at foreign bank commented on SBI's late dollar sales.

The rupee ended at 43.605/615 per dollar, off the earlier low of 43.66, and compared with Friday's close of 43.5725/575.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: The Indonesian rupiah weakened slightly on Monday as a visit by Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri to the bloodied spice islands failed to reassure investors.

The rupiah was quoted at 7,280/7,33 against the dollar compared with 7,305/7,345 in early trade and 7,260/7,290 in late local trade on Friday.

"Megawati's visit does not have much impact on the market. Players are not expecting much from her visit," one foreign bank dealer said.

"Her previous visit to calm the unrest there in December was followed by some of the worst conflict ever in the islands."

Megawati arrived in the far easter which claimed another 25 lives at the weekend.

Violent protests on the island resort of Bintan, near Singapore, over the weekend also dampened sentiment although they were isolated from religious riots in the rest of the country.

Dealers said the rupiah could head towards the 7,400 mark, with reasonable support seen at 7,250.

Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia said 7.45 trillion rupiah in funds matured early on Monday. The benchmark interbank overnight rate hovered around 9.25 percent.-Reuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: China's yuan ended slightly higher against the dollar on Monday on increased demand from domestic banks ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, dealers said.

But trade remained thin as banks were reluctant to build large positions ahead of the long break, they said.

The yuan finished at 8.2790 to one U.S. dollar against 8.2792 on Friday after moving in a narrow range of 8.2785 and 8.2793.

"The yuan was pushed up by light buying from domestic banks," said a local bank dealer.

Dealers said companies needed more yuan for staff bonuses ahead of the Lunar New Year, which is also traditionally a period of heavier spending.

The yuan was likely to move in a narrow range of 8.2785 to 8.2795 in thin trade ahead of the holiday, they said.

The yuan closed lower against the Japanese yen at 7.8782 to 100 yen against 7.7790 on Friday. It ended unchanged against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0637 to HK$1.0.-Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso closed at a two-week high on Monday boosted by dollar selling by offshore players, dealers said.

The peso finished at 40.49 to the dollar against its Friday's close of 40.645. It reached a day's low of 40.695 immediately after it opened at 40.67.

"The peso's appreciation is not really a reflection of confidence in the market but it's simply because banks had long dollar positions," said one trader from a local bank.-Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won closed stronger against the dollar on Monday as interbank operators unloaded dollars after the central bank and government announced steps to ensure liquidity for merchant banks, dealers said.

There had been concern about the sector after authorities on Friday ordered Nara Investment Banking Corp to suspend operations for three months.

They said banks also sold dollars ahead of end-of-month export settlements.

The won closed at 1,124.0 compared with Friday's close of 1,128.0.

It opened at 1,129.0 and moved between 1,123.5 and 1,130.0. "Interbank operators squared long dollar positions they had built up after the temporary closure of Nara Investment," said a local bank dealer.

The Financial Supervisory Commission ordered Nara Investment to suspend operations due to financial troubles stemming from its heavy exposure to the Daewoo Group

The FSC followed up on Monday by announcing it would provide 62 billion won to merchant banks to help prevent market instability.

The central Bank of Korea also said it may directly purchase government bonds from investment trust firms if the trusts run into trouble meeting redemptions of beneficiary certificates linked to Daewoo Group-issued bonds next month.

On February 8, the government plans to raise a ceiling on redemptions of funds managed by the investment trusts that have Daewoo bonds in their portfolios to 95 percent from 80 percent.

Dealers said some banks' settlements of dollar selling orders from foreign equity investors in the local stock market also helped the won.-Reuters

Taiwanese dollar

TAIPEI: The Taiwan dollar closed with firm gains on Monday, supported by unquenched foreign buying interest in local equities and routine month-end U.S. dollar selling by exporters.

CLOSE: T$30.812 to the U.S. dollar, gaining on Friday's T$30.821 close.

TURNOVER THROUGH DEALERS: Moderate at US$258 million, retreating from Friday's active US$374 million.

Foreign funds were net buyers of T$3.219 billion in Taiwan stocks on Monday, accumulating T$43.502 billion in local equities over a 12-day shopping spree of net buying.

Dealers said the central bank had apparently eased its grip on the Taiwan dollar, reluctant to offer an favourable exchange rate to foriegn equity funds. "With wave after wave of corporate U.S. dollar selling, it seems meaningless for the central bank to continue offering good prices to foreign funds," said one dealer at a foreign bank.

Exporters were also selling U.S. dollars as they began to settle their books for the month of January, dealers said.

Dealers noted heavy resistance around the T$30.81 level, however, fueled by U.S. dollar buy orders from the central bank.

On the smaller Cosmos exchange, the Taiwan dollar finished at T$30.809 against Thursday's T$30.817, while turnover shrank to US$50 million from US$67 million on Thursday.

Traders said the market was keeping a wait-and-see attitude on the Japanese yen, which reclaimed ground above 105 to the U.S. dollar after retreating on a weekend Group of Seven statement saying they shared Japan's concerns on the strong yen.

Foreign exchange traders in Taipei keep a close eye on the yen as Japan is a major source of imports for Taiwan.

Dealers said they expected the Taiwan dollar to range between T$30.8 and T$30.82 on Tuesday.-Reuters