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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended slightly firm on Wednesday and dealers said though corporate flows were in either direction, dollar supplies were slightly higher.

"Besides, today being a Wednesday no trader wants to go home long on dollars," a dealer at an American bank said.

The rupee ended at 43.515/52 per dollar after it opened steady at 43.5275/5325.

It had ended at 43.53/5325 per dollar on Tuesday.-Reuters

Indonesia rupiah

JAKARTA: The Indonesian rupiah was mostly stable in late trading on Wednesday, but the market remained thin with players focussing on the troubled central bank, Bank Indonesia.

The rupiah was quoted at 7,090/7,140 against the dollar compared with 7,180/7,230 in early trade and 7,030/7,050 in late Tuesday trade.

"I don't expect to see significant changes in the market unless you hear dramatic developments regarding Bank Indonesia," said one dealer at a foreign bank.

"Sentiment will be the same tomorrow, thin. Trading activities have come to a trickle, especially in foreign banks ahead of the Eid al-Fitr celebration," he added.

The celebration, marking the end of the Ramadan fasting month, starts on Saturday.

President Abdurrahman Wahid has proposed replacing Bank Indonesia governor Syahril Sabirin after an official audit criticised the bank's management, parliamentary speaker Akbar Tandjung said.

The audit suggested the bank's financial position was so problematic it might need to be recapitalised and the government and the International Monetary Fund are now drafting a bail-out that will include an injection of fresh capital.

Dealers said the optimistic economic outlook for 2000 issued by the bank on Wednesday after its monthly board meeting had no impact on the market.

The bank forecast growth of between three and four percent in 2000 from an revised estimate of 0.1 percent in 1999 and a 13.7 percent fall in 1998.

It had previously forecast 2000 growth of 2-4 percent after between minus 0.5 percent and zero in 1999.

A Reuters poll of 10 research houses in December produced an average growth forecast of 3.7 percent for 2000 and a fall of 0.2 percent in 1999.-Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso returned to the wrong side of 40 to the dollar level on Wednesday on expectations the United States would raise interest rates to tame inflation.

"I think offshore players were spooked by the U.S. rate hike concerns, that's why the peso weakened. It's the same situation for regional currencies," a dealer with a foreign bank said.

The peso ended at a day-low of 40.165, almost 40 centavos weaker than 39.77 close on Tuesday. Its day-high was capped at 39.88, shortly after opening at 39.91.

Turnover declined to $289.7 million from the previous $331 million. Dealers said dollar orders from firms also emerged.

"Demand (for dollars) is coming in. Most corporates and other investors are buying below 40 thinking this will be a good rate for the rest of the year," a dealer with a local bank said.

The weakness of the peso was in line with the baht and the rupiah, which both lost ground due to the same interest rate concerns in the United States, another local dealer said.

"There was a reversal across the board. The rupiah is again below 7,000 and the baht below 37," he said.

Another factor was the 3.64 percent fall in the main stock market index, closing at 2,074.75 points following the slide in Wall Street overnight, dealers said.

Dealers ignored the inflation data released on Wednesday, which at 4.3 percent during the year to December was within market expectations.

"It was mostly external factors that dictated the market. We'll see what happens next," the foreign dealer said.

Dealers placed Thursday's trading range at 40.00/40.20, or at a wider 39.80/40.35.-Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won retreated against the dollar on Wednesday as a sharp fall in local stocks following overnight plunges on Wall Street spurred offshore dollar buying and short-covering by banks, dealers said.

The won ended the day at 1,135.0 compared with Tuesday's close of 1,122.5.

It opened at 1,125.5 and ranged between 1,122.5 and 1,135.0.

"The market saw a strong rebound in the greenback caused by a steep fall in local stocks without too much help from the government," said a dealer at a domestic bank.

The greenback's rise was ignited as foreign investors who sold a net 30 billion won worth of shares in the morning stepped up the selling in late trade, dealers said.

Foreign net selling of local stocks were 112.8 billion won for the full day.

"Foreign investors will repatriate their investments in local stocks which fanned demand for the greenback in the forex market," said a dealer at a domestic bank.

Short-covering, sparked by offshore dollar buying in early trade, pushed the won/dollar down to 1,135.0 at the close.

When the dollar advanced to 1,133, the market faced heavy dollar sales by corporations attempting to take profits, dealers said.

On Thursday, overnight performance on Wall Street will dictate the direction of the local unit on Thursday, dealers said.

In the non-deliverable forward market, the six-month won stood at 1,132/34 versus 1,125/27 late Tuesday.

The one-year won was quoted at 1,139/41 versus 1,133/35.-Reuters

Taiwanese dollar

TAIPEI: The Taiwan dollar snapped an eight-day winning streak to close lower on Wednesday, and dealers said the central bank intervened heavily to curb the local unit's uptrend after a nearly T$0.8 surge in the previous session.

CLOSE: T$30.8 to the U.S. dollar, down T$0.198 from Tuesday's close at T$30.602. The Taiwan unit had risen T$1.061 over the past eight sessions, capped by a dizzying T$0.793 gain on Tuesday.

TURNOVER THROUGH DEALERS: Very busy at US$870 million but less than Tuesday's extremely active US$1.033 billion

The Taiwan dollar opened stronger at T$30.54 on active buying interest from foreign equity funds and U.S. dollar selling by exporters, but slipped into negative territory after meeting strong resistance at T$30.51, dealers said.

Dealers said they saw signs of heavy U.S. dollar buying by the central bank, which triggered a squeeze on greenback short positions. A strong central bank defense at the T$30.51 level meant the Taiwan dollar did not chalenge Tuesday's intraday high of T$30.501, dealers said. The local unit ranged as low as T$30.952 on Wednesday.

"The central bank pulled the Taiwan dollar nearly 35 Taiwan cents higher in one move, but there were not many U.S. dollar buy orders out there, so this panicked traders with U.S. dollar short positions in covering their positions," one dealer said.

Dealers said the central bank could be stalling the buoyant Taiwan unit's rise to give exporters an opportunity to sell U.S. dollars as well as discourage speculative U.S. dollar shorts.

On the smaller Cosmos Exchange, the Taiwan dollar ended at T$30.75 down from T$30.51 on Tuesday. Cosmos turnover was US$139 million expanding slightly from Tuesday's US$137 million.

Dealers said they saw heavy resistance at T$31 for Thursday's session.-Reuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: China's yuan closed slightly higher in thin trade on Wednesday due to light technical buying by local banks, dealers said.

The yuan finished at 8.2797 to one U.S. dollar against 8.2800 on Tuesday after moving in a narrow range of 8.2789 and 8.2801.

The yuan had been on a slight downward trend in the previous few weeks mainly due to increased dollar demand at the end of the year.

"Light technical buying from local banks after the recent falls pushed the yuan up slightly today," said a dealer at a foreign bank.

Despite the gains, dealers said market fundamentals had not changed and the room for the yuan to rise further was limited.

The market saw a foreign exchange outflow in December due to increased dollar demand from local banks for year-end settlement and from foreign companies sending home their 1999 profits.

But the outflow was largely offset by China's strong foreign trade surplus, which was estimated at $30 billion in 1999.

The yuan was likely to move in a narrow range between 8.2790 and 8.2800 in the near term, dealers said.

The yuan closed higher against the Japanese yen at 8.0332 to 100 yen against 8.0710 on Tuesday.

It ended slightly higher against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0640 to HK$1.0 against 1.0644. -Reuters