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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended steady on Thursday amid heavy dollar inflows, largely from corporates, and some import remittances by state-run firms, dealers said.

The rupee ended at 43.575/58 per dollar compared to Wednesday's 43.58/585.

A large fertiliser firm bought dollars to make payments for its imports, dealers said.

Dealers said a few foreign banks were also seen buying dollars.

"Trading was very ranged and large state-run banks bid for dollars, but small amounts" a dealer in a state-run bank said. -Reuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: China's yuan closed slightly higher against the dollar on Thursday, shrugging off the impact of turbulent China-Taiwan relations.

The yuan ended at 8.2775 to one U.S. dollar from 8.2777 on Wednesday after moving in a range of 8.2745 and 8.2786.

At a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, Premier Zhu Rongji told Taiwan voters to cast their ballots in the island's Saturday's presidential election with a cool head or risk not getting a second chance.

His remarks led to sharp falls on China's stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen on Thursday.

"Unlike retail investors on the stock markets, bank traders on the foreign exchange market seem more cool-headed," said a local bank dealer.

"Unless there are hard facts showing the possibility of a military conflict between China and Taiwan, bank traders are unlikely to sell the yuan on a large scale."

Dealers also said there was no evidence of intervention by the central People's Bank of China in the the tightly controlled foreign exchange market despite the Taiwan tensions.

The yuan rose on Thursday as it was supported by China's growing exports, which surged a year-on-year 41.2 percent in the first two months of this year, dealers said.

But the yuan was also under pressure as China's imports grew faster than exports, they said. Imports soared 54.2 percent to $28.69 billion in January and February.

Dealers said they expected the yuan to move mainly in a narrow range between 8.2780 and 8.2790 in the near term unless there were major new market-moving factors.

The yuan closed higher against the Japanese yen at 7.8480 to 100 yen from 7.8861 on Wednesday. It ended marginally higher against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0628 to HK$1.0 from 1.0630.-Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won closed higher against the dollar on Thursday as foreign investors increased their share buying in the local market, dealer said.

Foreign investors were net buyers of 123.5 billion won worth of local stocks on Thursday on top of a net buying of 82 billion won on Wednesday, brokers said.

The won closed at 1,117.2 compared with Wednesday's close of 1,118.3.

It opened at a day low of 1,119.3 and touched a high of 1,116.8.

Dollar-buying intervention by monetary authorities limited the won's steep rise, dealers said. "Pressure from foreign stock buying was the main factor for the won's rise as usual," said a local bank dealer. "As expected, the government stepped in to halt the won's appreciation."

Dealers said the routine trading pattern would not change on Friday, with the dollar/won rate stuck in a similar tight range.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy said near the market's close it was ready to take action if necessary to stabilise the currency market.

It said the won's appreciation is not desirable for the country's economy given the recent trend in the trade account.

Analysts said the government wanted to defend the dollar/won rate at the 1,116 level, which had been threatened by dollar inflows from foreign investment in local stocks.

Government officials feared the won's appreciation would hurt the price competitiveness of the country's exporters in overseas markets.

The finance ministry earlier said the trade deficit during the first 10 days of March was estimated at $1.35 billion.

State-run banks, including the Export-Import Bank of Korea, were seen in the market soaking up dollars from the opening bell, dealers said.

At noon, the Finance Ministry announced South Korea's external liabilities rose to a provisional $136.8 billion at the end of January, up about $400 million from the end of last year.

The central Bank of Korea announced the country's usable foreign exchange reserves totalled $81.18 billion as of March 15, up $1.45 billion from the end of February.

The six-month non-deliverable forward (NDF) won was quoted at 1,117.5/19.5 versus 1,120/21 late on Wednesday. -Reuters

Taiwanese dollar

TAIPEI: The Taiwan dollar fell further against the U.S. dollar in active trade on Thursday as tough remarks by Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji ahead of weekend elections pulled the local unit lower.

Dealers said were it not for central bank intervention the Taiwan currency would have made a further decline.

CLOSE: T$30.756 to the U.S. dollar, weakening from Wednesday's close at T$30.742. On the smaller Cosmos market, the Taiwan currency ended at T$30.775 compared to T$30.752 on Wednesday.

TURNOVER THROUGH DEALERS: hectic at US$609 million compared to US$583 million on Wednesday. Cosmos turnover rose to US$121 million from US$100 million on Wednesday. The Taiwan dollar opened marginally higher at T$30.740 to the U.S. dollar, but immediately reversed course and stayed in negative territory throughout the session, touching a low of T$30.772.

Dealers said the last-minute intervention by the central bank, which has long pledged to maintain stability in the foreign exchange market, lifted the Taiwan unit to close above T$30.8.

Dealers said Zhu's blunt warnings over Taiwan's presidential elections on March 18 had sparked a wave of U.S. dollar buying from both importers and ordinary people and knocked down the local unit.

On Wednesday, Zhu revealed China's growing alarm at the prospect of pro-independence candidate Chen Shui-bian winning Saturday's vote by warning Taiwan's voters not to act "on impulse" and make a decision they would regret.

He also said Chinese people were ready to "shed blood" to prevent Taiwan breaking away and said those who argued China did not have the military capability to attack the island were making a mistake.

Dealers said the central bank's vow to keep a stable currency had stopped any speculative trade.

Central bank governor Perng Fai-nan told reporters on Thursday the bank would not intervene unless "occasional or seasonal" factors emerged.

One dealer at a major domestic bank said the central bank was capable of defending the Taiwan dollar with huge foreign reserve on hand. Taiwan's foreign reserve hit a record US$113.638 billion as of end-February against US$110.051 billion by end-January.

For Friday, dealers expected the Taiwan dollar to trade between T$30.73 and T$30.78.-Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso settled nearly unchanged after a weak start on Thursday as some banks and exporters took the opportunity to sell dollars when the local currency hit a day's low of 40.98, dealers said.

The peso was also tracking the movement of the Thai baht.

The peso ended at 40.94 to the dollar from its previous close of 40.93. It reached the day-low of 40.98 at the open.

Turnover increased to $185.90 million from the previous $158.6 million.

"It's just profit-taking. Some exporters sold dollars," said one dealer.

Other traders said the peso also moved in line with the baht, which recovered in late trade after a soft start. The baht was quoted at 37.93/37.99 to the dollar in late trade from 37.97/38.02 early in the session.

The currencies of the Philippines and Thailand sometimes follow each other as both countries have the same export markets.

Traders said they expected the peso to be range-bound on Friday, with one dealer forecasting a trading range of 40.85 to 40.98 on Friday. -Reuters