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Asian currencies

rate vs dollar

SEOUL: The won ended Friday slightly lower against the dollar on the US unit's strength against the Japanese yen overseas, dealers said.

But profit taking emerged when the dollar rose to 783.20, buffering the won's losses.

Thursday's general elections did not have much impact on the market. Some dealers have speculated that the won could appreciate after elections because the government would no longer support the dollar to help exporters.

The won ended at 782.80, down from its opening of 782.70. It hit a high of 782.30.

The won's mid-rate is expected to be pegged at 782.50 on Monday, compared with 781.80 today.

"The dollar/yen rate is what everyone is watching," said a Societe Generale dealer. Dealer said the won would continue to be influenced by the dollar/yen movement next week.

Cho Min-ho of Credit Lyonnais said $200-$300 million in import deals could be settled on Monday.

The Societe Generale dealer put Monday's range at between 781.00 and 783.50, while Cho put it at 782.50-783.50.

CHINESE YUAN

SHANGHAI: The Chinese yuan closed little changed at 8.3321 against the US dollar on Friday from Thursday's rate of 8.3320 in thin trading on the Shanghai-based interbank foreign exchange market.

The yuan opened flat at 8.3320 and rose slightly, hitting an intra-day high of 8.3309 early in the session. It then fell to a low of 8.3335 in the mid-session before rising at the end. Trading was thin, with most done at about 8.3320.

Traders said the yuan fluctuated in a wide range with buying at low levels and selling at high levels, with investors believing it would fall in the near future.

Although the yuan had consolidated recently, it would fall in the near future because China posted a trade deficit in the first quarter of this year, one dealer said.

Dealers said such a downtrend was unlikely to change in the next few months because of wide-ranging import tariff cuts and lower export rebates, but they expected the yuan to consolidate around the current level early next week.

The yuan ended down at 7.7100 from 7.7075 vs 100 Japanese yen and up at 1.0770 from 1.0780 vs the Hong Kong dollar.

TAIWAN DOLLAR

TAIPEI: The Taiwan dollar finished little changed against the US dollar on Friday as a firm US dollar overseas prevented the local unit from rising further.

The rate closed at T$27.166, off an intra-day high of T$27.147, against Thursday's T$27.167 close. Turnover was a heavy US$335.5 million.

"Although foreign funds are expected to continue flowing into Taiwan due to a booming stock market, a strong US dollar overseas will likely keep the Taiwan dollar stable," said on dealer. The local currency was seen moving within a T$27.15-27.20 range next week, dealers said.

INDONESIA RUPIAH

JAKARTA: The Indonesian rupiah edged up against the dollar in late Friday trading following offshore swaps selling across the board, dealers said.

One European bank dealer said operators tended to offload swaps due to relatively ample money market liquidity.

He said swaps offloading spinned into spot dollars, sending the rupiah to touch a high of 2,330.75 in mid-afternoon.

"The tone seems to favour the rupiah but there is strong support for the dollar at 2,329 level," the dealer said.

He said the dollar-rupiah rate was likely to range around 2,330.0 and 2,334.0 level next Monday.

Spot rupiah was last at 2,330.50/30.75, compared with an opening of 2,332.0/33.0. Tomorrow and today rupiah closed at 2,330.2/30.6 and 2,330.6/31.0, respectively.

One Japanese bank dealer said earlier there were some fresh investment funds coming in from offshore, which also helped strengthen the rupiah.-Reuter.