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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee closed little changed from levels on Monday amid thin flows, dealers said.

Forward dollar premia however ended sharply lower after the central bank's interest rate cuts on the weekend, dealers said.

The rupee ended at 43.615/62 per dollar after it opened at 43.60/61.

It had closed on Friday at 43.6025/6075 per dollar.

Dealers said a large petrochemicals firm had been buying dollars.There were also some cancellations of forward contracts by exporters.

"Forward premium opened lower with a gap after the rate cut.There was some paying later on on export cancellations," a dealer with a European bank said.

The six-month forward premium ended down at an annualised 2.78 percent compared with on Friday's close at 3.02.

Call money rates ended lower at 6.9-7.1 percent on Monday, around the new refinance rates, after opening soft at 8.5 percent.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday cut the cash reserve ratio to eight percent from nine in two stages of 0.5 percentage point each, effective from April 8 and April 22.

It also announced a reduction in the bank rate, at which the central bank lends to commercial banks and primary dealers, to 7.0 percent from the current 8.0 percent with effect from on Saturday.

The central bank also cut the repo rate to five percent from six with effect from on Monday. The rate on savings deposits with banks was lowered to four percent from 4.5 with effect from April 1.-Reuters

Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee was little changed on Monday but forward premia were sharply lower, dealers said.

There had been heavy receiving in premia across all maturities following the central bank's rate cuts on Saturday, they said.

The rupee was quoted at 43.615/62 per dollar after it opened at 43.60/61. It had closed on Friday at 43.6025/6075 per dollar.

Dealers said a large petrochemicals firm had been buying dollars.

The six-month forward premium was down to an annualised 2.7 percent compared with on Friday's close at 3.02.

"Everyone is receiving after the rate cuts and because call rates are also low. Banks are willing to receive cash-tom premiums of quarter paise (0.0025 rupees)," a dealer with a state-run bank said.

Call money rates fell to 6.9-7.1 percent in afternoon deals on Monday, around the new refinance rates, after opening soft at 8.5 percent.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday cut the cash reserve ratio to eight percent from nine in two stages of 0.5 percentage point each, effective from April 8 and April 22. It also announced a reduction in the bank rate, at which the central bank lends to commercial banks and primary dealers, to 7.0 percent from the current 8.0 percent with effect from Saturday.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: The rupiah fell through 7,700 against the dollar in afternoon trade on Monday as offshore players sold the Indonesian currency on worries over whether the country could meet deadlines for IMF reforms.

Dealers said players in Singapore steadily bought dollars, pushing the rupiah to its lowest level since February 2.

The rupiah was off its lows and trading at 7,670/7,700 to the dollar compared with 7,595/7,615 in late local trade on Friday.

Dealers said the market was waiting to see whether the government would meet new deadlines set by the IMF for fulfilling economic reform pledges.

"The market is waiting for the cabinet's economic team to fulfil the targets set by the letter of intent," one dealer with a foreign bank said.

Indonesia's state statistic bureau said on Monday Indonesian consumer prices were 1.10 percent lower in March compared to the same month last year, after a steeper-than-expected 0.45 percent month-on-month fall.

Indonesia is facing a race against time to fulfil pledges made to the IMF if it is to persuade creditors at the April 12 Paris Club meeting to reschedule its debt and the IMF to release its next loan instalment, officials say.

The IMF wants some reforms completed by April 8, and another set of reforms done by April 21.

Trading was thin ahead of a public holiday on Tuesday, dealers said.

President Abdurrahman Wahid late on Friday decided to delay a controversial increase in fuel prices set for Saturday, saying the necessary mechanisms were not yet in place. -Reuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: China's yuan weakened against the US dollar on Monday, weighed by late dollar bids from importers, dealers said.

The yuan ended at 8.2798 to one US dollar against 8.2791 on Friday after hovering in a range of 8.2780 to 8.2800, against 8.2785 to 8.2842 in the previous session.

The yuan's daily fluctuation expanded during the past two sessions, compared with the earlier slender daily range of 10 basis points.

"Some banks came in late and bought dollars minutes before the closing bell, so they had to offer more favourable prices to get it done," said a dealer at a major local bank.

"That helped push down the yuan value in the last few ticks."

But some dealers said the yuan could come under downside pressure on expectations of a narrowing trade surplus for the first quarter of this year.

"According to our estimation, China's imports in the first quarter are likely to outgrow exports," said a dealer at a foreign bank.

China reported a trade surplus of $2.89 billion in the first two months of this year, down from $3.77 billion in the same period of last year.

There was no sign of central bank intervention on Monday, but the People's Bank of China was likely to step in if the yuan moved away from its usual 8.2770 to 8.2800 range, dealers said.

The yuan closed lower against the Japanese yen at 7.8521 to 100 yen from 7.8480 on Friday. It also eased against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0635 from 1.0632. -Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won ended lower versus the dollar on Monday, walloped by dollar-buying intervention by monetary authorities, analysts said.

"The market had not seen dollar-buying intervention on that scale in several months," said a foreign bank dealer.

The won closed at 1,112.3 to the dollar compared with Friday's close of 1,106.0.

It opened at 1,107.2 and moved between 1,104.1 and 1,116.9.

The foreign bank dealer said monetary authorities had soaked up some $600-700 million in dollars through state banks from the market on the day.

Other traders estimated the amount at about $1 billion.

The intervention came after the won hit a fresh 28-month high of 1,104.1 early in the morning in line with the yen's bullishness versus the greenback in overseas markets.

The Korean currency has recently been pushed up at a fast rate by a stream of dollar inflows from foreign equity investment funds and dollar sales by local exporters.

Dealers said the government took "resolute" action to pacify Korean exporters who raised voices over the won's rapid appreciation, citing their weakening price competitiveness.

The commerce ministry said on Saturday Korea posted a provisional trade surplus of $382 million for March, down 83.8 percent from a $2.35 billion surplus a year ago and down 50.6 percent from February's surplus of $774 million.

"We will take necessary measures on a continuous basis to cap the won's rise," said an official at the monetary authorities.

In late afternoon trade, some players sold dollars to take profits from the intervention-backed rebound, returning the dollar/won back to around 1,112.

The dollar's downside was thwarted by fears of further intervention.

Dealers said they expect the won to move between 1,110 and 1,115 on Tuesday.

The six-month non-deliverable forward (NDF) won was quoted at 1,113.0/14.5 versus 1,106.5/08.0 late on Friday.

The one-year won stood at 1,115.5/17.0 against 1,109.5/10.5. -Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso finished flat on Monday after hitting a six-month low in intra-day trades, although traders said concerns about local political developments will continue to weigh down the currency.

The peso closed at 41.135 to the dollar for the second day in a row but it crossed its psychological support of 41.15 in morning trade and reached a low of 41.185. Turnover rose to $197.50 million against Friday's $120 million.

Rumours of a coup attempt to be launched against the administration of President Joseph Estrada circulated late last week but Estrada brushed them off as being spread by his political opponents.

Traders said there was dollar demand from offshore players as well as from big local corporations.

"The bids of the offshore players for the NDFs (non-deliverable forwards) had a ten centavo premium over the local market," said a trader from a local bank.

Another trader said that apart from news of the Philippines' higher export receipts in the first two months of the year, there were no other good news to lift market sentiment.

"There's no improvement, it's all bad news...So banks opted to build or maintain long dollar positions," a trader from a foreign bank said. The central bank said there was no need for it to intervene in the foreign exchange market despite the continuing slide in the peso.

Central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said the peso's weakness was only temporary.

The next major support of the peso is pegged at the 41.20 level, traders said.-Reuters