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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended steady on Monday despite strong dollar sales by exporters, dealers said.

They said most of the dollar supplies were absorbed by state-run banks.

The rupee ended at 43.6075/61 per dollar, little changed from Friday's close of 43.605/61.

Dealers said the forward market also turned volatile in afternoon trade after the labour minister ruled out any cut in the interest rates on the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

The Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted labour minister Satyanarayan Jatiya as saying that there will be no reduction in the interest rates on EPF, currently at 12 percent.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: Indonesia's rupiah hardly budged in thin trade on Monday, trapped below 7,400 to the dollar by the continuing political concens.

The rupiah was trading at 7,480/7,520 to the dollar versus 7,475/7,525 in late local trade on Friday.

"Trading could pick up slightly on Tuesday after the markets in Hong Kong and Singapore reopen," said one foreign bank treasury manager. Hong Kong and Singapore markets were closed on Monday due to the Chinese New Year celebrations and will reopen Tuesday.

Dealers predicted a range of between 7,400 to 7,600 to the dollar this week.

"It's hard for the rupiah to go up because while the central bank could push it up by selling some dollars in the market, the weak sentiment would always drag the currency lower," one said.

Dealers said a standoff between President Abdurrahman Wahid and former military chief General Wiranto remained a major concern which could lead to instability.

Wiranto has resisted calls from Wahid for him to resign after an official investigation implicated him in last year's violence in East Timor.-ReuterS

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won ended slightly stronger against the dollar on Monday as market players sold dollars and robust foreign buying of local stocks proved too much for monetary authorities trying to keep the won in check, dealers said.

Both direct dollar buying by the central Bank of Korea and verbal threats by the Ministry of Finance and Economy helped ease the selling pressure but failed to push the greenback back higher, they said.

The won ended the day at 1,129.2 to the dollar compared with Thursday's close of 1,130.0.

It opened at 1,131.0 and ranged between 1,128 and 1,131.After opening weaker, the won gained momentum as banks went short on dollars in line with the weakness in the dollar/yen on Friday, dealers said.

With a heavy bout of sell orders flooding the market, the Bank of Korea intervened and soaked up dollars to prop up the currency, they said.

But players were preoccupied with dollar sales as foreign investors were net buyers of local equities, with the over-the-counter Kosdaq market heating up again, said a dealer at a foreign bank.

The Kosdaq market skyrocketed 10.01 percent to 239.49 points while the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price index closed up 2.41 percent at 973.13 points.

"A turnaround into the foreign net buying of local stocks gave a big boost to the local unit in the domestic forex market," the foreign bank dealer said.

With the market overburdened with a flurry of dollar sell orders, the Ministry of Finance and Economy issued a statement saying that it is closely monitoring the yen's moves as well as trade balance trend.

It also repeated that it would take appropriate steps when necessary.

Dealers said the rebound in the dollar/yen overseas provided some support to the government's efforts to keep the greenback floating higher.

The Japanese yen JPY was 107.75/80 to the dollar at 0750 GMT compared with 107.16 in late U.S. trade on Friday.

Dealers said the greenback was tipped to gain momentum in the near term on the back of expected import settlements by companies as well as intervention by the authorities.

"Many companies who are returning from long lunar new year's holidays are expected to settle their import deals due early in the month," said another dealer.

An expected strong performance by local stocks as well as signs of rising dollar/yen are seen contributing to the near-term strength in the dollar/won pair, dealers said.

In the non-deliverable forward market, the six-month won was quoted at 1,130/33 versus 1,131/33 late on Thursday.

The one-year won stood at 1,137/40 versus 1,138/40.-Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso ended steady against the dollar in light trade on Monday as regional financial centres were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

The peso finished at 40.525 per dollar from the close of 40.52 on Friday. Turnover slowed to $171 million from the previous $193 million.

Dealers said some corporate dollar demand emerged when the peso touched 40.48 in the morning session. "Initially, there was an unloading of dollars from those that stocked up due to the U.S. rate hike, but we saw (dollar buying) below 40.50," a dealer with a foreign bank said.

But a dealer with a local bank said: "Actually, demand was very little. Banks were just trading among themselves. That's why the trading range was very narrow."

Dealers said the peso will likely range from 40.40 to 40.70 in the coming days.

The peso would be supported by banks squaring long dollar positions after market concerns eased over the 25 basis point hike in U.S. rates last week.

But some banks, wary that local interest rates would continue to go down, may still opt to buy dollars.

The benchmark 91-day T-bill rate fell to 8.897 percent from last week's 8.915 percent following the announcement of a 13-year low inflation rate of 2.6 percent in the year to January.

National Treasurer Leonor Briones said she was looking forward to stable interest rates in the coming auctions as a result of of the tame inflation and high liquidity in the banking system.

Central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said the key overnight rates will likely remain unchanged because of the low January annual inflation.-Reuters