20000328

Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended steady on Monday after trading in a tight range throughout the day amid dollar bids mainly by state-run banks, dealers said.

Forward premiums ended higher on paying by a financial services firm and some month-end rollovers.

The rupee ended at 43.60/6025 per dollar against the previous close of 43.60/605.

"Spot rupee was very dull, stuck in a narrow groove. Few state-run banks were bidding the dollar throughout the day," a dealer at an American bank said.

Dealers said the bids may have been on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has for some time been sterilising dollar flows to beef up its foreign exchange reserves and to release rupees into the money market.

Forward premiums ended higher in active trading amid paying of February premiums by a financial services firm.

Dealers also reported paying interest from importers rolling over contracts.

The six-month premium ended at an annualised 3.65 percent against its previous close of 3.40 percent.-Reuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: China's yuan closed slightly lower against the dollar on Monday as domestic banks sought dollars due to increased demand from local importers, dealers said.

The yuan ended at 8.2793 to one US dollar from 8.2790 on Friday after moving in a narrow range of 8.2787 to 8.2794. "We have seen more foreign exchange demand from trade firms recently, a sign of rising imports," said a local bank dealer. Domestic banks mainly trade in the strictly controlled market for their corporate clients for trade settlement.

Despite Monday's fall, dealers said there was still sufficient dollar supply in the market as China's exports were improving and the nation had a solid trade surplus. China's exports surged a year-on-year 41.2 percent in January-February while imports soared 54.2 percent, official figures showed. China had a trade surplus of $2.89 billion in the first two months of this year, though down from $3.77 billion in the same period of last year.

China's foreign trade performance is key to the yuan's exchange rates because it decides foreign exchange supply on the market as the domestic currency is not convertible on the capital account. The yuan was likely to move narrowly between 8.2780 to 8.2800 in the near term, dealers said.

The yuan strengthened against the Japanese yen at 7.7401 to 100 yen compared with 7.6865 on Friday. It ended higher at 1.0622 against the Hong Kong dollar from 1.0643. -Reuters

S Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won closed weaker against the dollar on Monday as banks built up dollar positions on dwindling foreign stock investment, dealers said.

The won closed at an intraday low of 1,112.1 to the dollar compared with Friday's close of 1,108.7. It opened at 1,110.0 and moved in a tight range of 1,108.7 and 1,112.1. "Interbank operators, who felt the dollar/won dropped a little bit sharply in recent sessions, began to build up dollar positions after they saw foreign stock investment dwindle," said a foreign bank dealer.

Foreign investors bought a net 95.8 billion won worth of shares on the Korea Stock Exchange on Monday, far lower than a streak of sessions in which it neared 200 million won per day.

The Korean currency, which closed at a 28-month high on Thursday, went higher on Friday due largely to heavy dollar inflows from foreign buying of local stocks and partly from end-of-month export settlements.

Dealers said market speculation that the government was seriously working out a plan to soak up dollars to help curb the won's rise also fanned dollar accumulation by banks. Alarmed by the won's rapid appreciation, monetary authorities said last week they and and financial organisations would buy about $1.9 billion in dollars from the market to pay off foreign debts and purchase foreign-held Daewoo Group bonds. -Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso ended softer on Monday as banks started covering short dollar positions when anticipated investment inflows failed to materialise.

The local currency closed the day's trade at 40.955 to the dollar from Friday's 40.93, in thinner volume of $117.20 million. But it was off its day-low of 40.965. "Some people were expecting substantial inflows," a trader at a local bank said. "So when it was postponed, some banks had to reduce their short positions and there was demand at 40.90."

Traders were anticipating about $360 million from Japan's NTT after it finalised an agreement with dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co on Friday.

Despite the dollar covering, traders said demand for the dollar was thin. "You could see there's no significant demand to move the market," another trader said, adding most corporate dollar buyers were holding off for a better exchange rate. The peso is projected to trade between 40.85 and 40.95 on Tuesday.

Traders were anticipating about $360 million from Japan's NTT after it finalised an agreement with dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co on Friday.

Despite the dollar covering, traders said demand for the dollar was thin. "You could see there's no significant demand to move the market," another trader said, adding most corporate dollar buyers were holding off for a better exchange rate. The peso is projected to trade between 40.85 and 40.95 on Tuesday.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: The Indonesian rupiah inched down in thin trade on Monday as local corporate dollar demand remained the key market driver ahead of the end of the fiscal year on March 31. The rupiah was quoted at 7,475/7,490 to the dollar compared with 7,440/7,460 in late local trade on Friday.

Dealers said comments by central bank deputy governor Miranda Goeltom that month-on-month inflation in March was likely to have a negative showing failed to strengthen the rupiah due to the steady corporate dollar demand. Goeltom told Reuters there was no need to hike interest rates despite planned price hikes in key sectors from April 1.

Another dealer said the rupiah's further falls on Monday had been unexpected, given that the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) had allowed the winning bidder for around 40 percent stake in car firm Astra International to pay in US dollars at a rate of 7,460 rupiah. IBRA said on Friday it was selling the Astra stake for $506 million.

The dealer said stronger rupiah demand had been expected to start kicking in when the local unit moved to levels below 7,460. Bank Indonesia said 7.5 trillion rupiah in funds matured early on Monday. Overnight rates still hovered at 9.25 percent for foreign banks and 9.5 percent for local banks.-Reuters