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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended steady on Thursday but forward premiums rose on account of paying pressure as call rates closed firm, dealers said.

"There seems to be some rethink on whether liquidity is comfortable," a dealer at a state-run bank said. Dealers said there were large dollar purchases by one state-run oil firm but exporter remittances bunched up due to Wednesday's holiday provided ample supplies.

The rupee ended at 43.57/5775 per dollar after it opened at 43.585/595 and compared with Tuesday's close of 43.5825/5875. The market was closed on Wednesday for a national holiday.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: The Indonesian rupiah, already hit by unrest and political uncertainty, weakened further on Thursday despite some state bank dollar selling.

The rupiah was quoted at 7,415/7,435 against the dollar after hitting a low of 7,495 earlier in the day. It was quoted at 7,380/7,400 in late local trade on Wednesday.

"State banks were seen selling dollars starting from 7,450 and helped push it down to around 7,415. The amount of dollars sold, however, was not significant enough to boost the rupiah back to Wednesday's level," said one dealer at a U.S. bank in Jakarta.

A peaceful rally by supporters of Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri on Thursday afternoon also helped the local unit. The rally had made the market jittery due to worries it could turn violent, dealers said.

Dealers said sentiment on the rupiah remained weak amid political uncertainty following news about a move to make generals who hold cabinet posts retire from the military.

The rupiah was likely to trade mostly around the 7,400 level on Friday, with support seen at 7,475 for the rupiah and resistance seen at 7,300.

Dealers said most of the dollar buying came from corporates, possibly for foreign debt payments and for imports.

"Looking at the movements in the market, I don't see much speculation in the market as volume remains relatively small," one European bank dealer said.

Bank Indonesia said 23.8 trillion rupiah in funds matured early on Thursday, while 15.0 trillion rupiah funds were settled.

The benchmark interbank overnight rate hovered around 9.5 percent for local banks and around 9.375 percent for foreign banks.-Reuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: China's yuan ended unchanged against the dollar on Thursday with increased yuan demand ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year offset by technical resistance after recent rises, dealers said.

The yuan finished at 8.2782 to one U.S. dollar, unchanged from Wednesday after moving in a range of 8.2780 to 8.2791.

"Demand for the yuan remained strong ahead of the Lunar New Year," said a local bank dealer. "But the yuan seemed to have met resistance at the 8.2780 level after the past few days of rises."

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

But domestic banks were unlikely to build heavy positions ahead of the long Lunar New Year holiday, they said.

Officials said the China Foreign Exchange Trade System would be closed from February 5 to February 11 for the holiday.

Trading would resume on February 12, they said.

The yuan was likely to continue to move in a range of 8.2780 to 8.2790 before the holiday, dealers said.

The yuan closed lower against the Japanese yen at 7.8361 to 100 yen against 7.8230 on Wednesday. It ended up slightly against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0637 to HK$1.0 from 1.0641. -Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won closed higher against the dollar on Thursday on dollar sales from exporters and foreign equity investors, dealers said.

The won closed at 1,125.3 compared with Wednesday's close of 1,127.2. It opened at an intraday low of 1,127.7 and moved in a tight range topped at 1,125.1.

Dealers said the market saw steady dollar sales from exporters toward the end of the month and ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday on February 4-6.

But such corporate dollar unloading was smaller than expected, dealers said, adding the market could see increased sales on Friday or Monday.

A steady stream of dollars was also coming into the currency market from foreign equity investors, who had been buying into Korean stocks in the Seoul bourse that lost ground in recent days.

In a rebound from days of declines, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index .KS11 gained 23.69 points or 2.68 percent to end at 909.23 on Thursday.

Foreigners bought stocks estimated at 65.5 billion won on the day. "Trading was very quiet for most of the day as players believed the authorities would intervene if the won strengthens above 1,125," said a foreign bank dealer.

The won/dollar pair, however, was supported strongly at 1,125 in the lack of follow-through dollar sales due to concerns about government intervention.

But the dealer expected the won to go up to 1,122 on Friday due to export deals, with chances of falling back to 1,128 if the upward thrust faced strong intervention.

In economic news, South Korea's industrial output surged 24.1 percent in December year-on-year, compared with a 4.8 percent rise in the same month in 1998, provisional National Statistical Office (NSO) figures showed.

Output for the whole of 1999 jumped 22.5 percent, swinging from a 7.3 percent fall in 1998, the office said.-Reuter

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso closed at a two-week high on Thursday after local banks unwound their long dollar positions ahead of the regular squaring of positions for the weekend.

The peso closed at 40.385 to the dollar from Wednesday's 40.495. It reached a day-low of 40.59 in early trade and later firmed to a day-high of 40.365 in afternoon trade.

Local banks were the major recipients of dollars sold earlier in the week by foreign banks ahead of the announcement on new rules for foreign exchange transactions, traders said.

"The market is really long on dollars. If not, then we won't see the peso appreciate as fast because there would be buying of the unloaded dollars," a trader from another local bank said.

Traders said the central bank's new rules on currency transactions have helped de-link the peso from other regional currencies since foreign speculative players could not easily engage in currency arbitrage.

The central bank said on Wednesday it had set a minimum 90-day holding period under time deposits for foreign portfolio investments in the country. Offshore players were not actively trading in the market.

"Local banks were expecting the peso to depreciate further with weaker regionals and with some corporate demand. But there was little demand and they could not wait so they sold dollars ," said another trader from a local bank.

The peso would range from 40.35 to 40.60 on Friday, traders said.-Reuters