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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended steady against the dollar on the first day of trading in the new year, after moving in a tight range, dealers said.

Trade was led mainly by flows from a few large corporates including a petrochemicals firm's inflows and a state-run oil firm's import payments, they said.

The State Bank of India(SBI) bought dollars in the latter part of the day, effectively checking the rupee's gains at 43.48, they said.

The rupee ended at 43.495/50 per dollar, little changed from the weekend's close at 43.49/495.-Reuters

Indonesian Rupiah

JAKARTA: The Indonesian rupiah weakened slightly to around 7,000 in thin late trade on Monday, after strengthening to a high of 6,880, amid concerns about the state of the country's beleaguered central bank.

The rupiah was quoted at 7,050/7,100 against the dollar compared with 6,975/7,075 in late trade on Thursday. Banks were closed on Friday due to year-end book closing.

Dealers said indications the country appeared to have got through the new year without major Y2K glitches boosted sentiment in the local unit, but it lost the gains amid concerns about the financial positions of the central bank, Bank Indonesia.

"There had been worries Indonesia would be among those countries to be hit by the Y2K problem because of a lack of resources due to the financial crisis. These worries so far appear to be groundless," one bank dealer said.

The rupiah, however, gave up the early gains amid concerns about Bank Indonesia despite news that the International Monetary Fund would help improve the bank's financial position.

The IMF said on the central bank would need some recapitalisation, but that there was nothing in a critical audit on the bank which would prevent it from meeting its daily obligations.

Bank Indonesia itself said separately that the country's overseas bonds and bank bailout scheme could be hurt by the recent state audit, which had found the bank's finances so problematic it might have to be recapitalised.

The central bank also said the audit news could push up the cost of financing for Indonesian firms raising funds overseas and might raise concern over the bank's ability to guarantee trade financing.-Reuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: China's yuan closed unchanged against the dollar on Monday in range-bound trading on the first day of business after the New Year holiday, dealers said.

The yuan closed at 8.2799 to one U.S. dollar, unchanged from Thursday, the last day of trading in the 20th Century.

An official of the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the national foreign exchange market, said the trading centre had not encountered any problems related to the Y2K computer bug.

The yuan touched a low of 8.2800 and a high of 8.2794 on Monday. The weighted average price on Thursday was 8.2795.

Dealers said year-end demand for the dollar had put pressure on the yuan, but the yuan was supported by news of healthy foreign exchange reserves.

China's foreign exchange reserves at the end of 1999 were $154.675 billion, up $9.716 billion from the end of 1998, official media said over the weekend.

The yuan closed lower against the Japanese yen at 8.1300 to 100 yen against 8.0610 on Thursday.

It ended almost unchanged against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0647 to HK$1.0 against 1.0648. -Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso strengthened on Monday, closing above 40 to the dollar for the first time in 16 weeks as market concerns about the Y2K bug were dispelled.

Dealers said they expected the peso to strengthen further this week after it firmed past 40.00 to the dollar early in the morning session. They placed the next psychologically-important resistance level at 39.70.

The peso ended its first trading day for the year at 39.98 to the dollar, its highest closing level since 39.935 on September 15. It last closed at 40.25 on December 29. Turnover on Monday reached $223.5 million, above the 1999 average of about $150 million, a dealer with a foreign bank said.

"We've hurdled some Y2K concerns. I think confidence is back, at least for the short term," the dealer said, adding most of the day's selling volume came from foreign banks.

Another dealer said: "Those who bought dollars in anticipation of something happening due to the Y2K bug, I think they're beginning to come back."

The Philippines has said it has had no reports of any disruptions arising from the millennium bug problem.

A dealer with a local bank said one foreign bank sold around $50 million on Monday, part of it for equities investments.

"Apparently some foreign fund managers are positioning already, and it's apparent in the region," he said.

The main share index .PSI ended mixed, losing just 1.2 points to end at 2,141.77, as investors cashed in on blue-chip gains and picked up smaller issues, brokers said.

Dealers said almost all banks were caught with long dollar positions and rushed to cut losses even at the 40.10 level.

"We expect the peso to continue its rally. The 39.90 level is easy to breach but it's crucial. If it's breached, we might see 39.70 as a good support for the dollar," one dealer said.

Dealers said the lack of substantial corporate demand for dollars would also likely push the peso higher.

"It's very early in the year for corporate demand (for dollars). Some of the importers might still have inventories," the local dealer said.

Central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura also expected the peso to firm up as banks let go of the liquidity they kept in line with Y2K-related concerns.

"The foreign exchange rate is quite soft today. Everybody over-provided for Y2K," he said.-Reuters