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Indian rupee

BOMBAY: The Indian rupee ended steady on Wednesday despite increased dollar inflows as the State Bank of India and another public sector bank made purchases, dealers said.

The rupee closed unchanged at 43.57/575 per dollar.

"There were good supplies. Some might have been foreign direct inflows and the rest from foreign institutional investors. But state-run banks were mopping up these inflows," a dealer in a large foreign bank said.-Reuters

Chinese yuan

SHANGHAI: China's yuan closed slightly lower against the dollar on Wednesday as domestic banks sold the yuan due to increased dollar demand from importers.

The yuan ended at 8.2787 to one US dollar from 8.2783 on Tuesday after moving in a narrow range of 8.2783 and 8.2790.

"Increased dollar demand from importers has become a major factor affecting the yuan's exchange rate in the past few weeks," said a local bank dealer.

"But there is also sufficient dollar supply on the market and the potential for the yuan to fall sharply is limited."

Dealers said China's imports picked up after a lull during the Lunar New Year holiday in early February but its healthy foreign trade surplus in the past few months had ensured a steady flow of foreign exchange onto the market.

The yuan was likely to move narrowly between 8.2780 and 8.2800 in the near term, they said.

The yuan closed lower against the Japanese yen at 7.8244 to 100 yen from 7.7305 on Tuesday. It ended unchanged against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0632 to HK$1.0. -Reuters

S.Korean won

SEOUL: The South Korean won closed weaker against the dollar on Wednesday due to a fall in foreign buying of local stocks, dealers said.

Foreign net stock buying dropped to 141.3 billion won on Wednesday from 211.3 billion won on Tuesday.

The won closed at 1,119.0 per dollar against on Tuesday's close of 1,118.5. It opened at 1,119.0 and ranged between 1,117.5 and 1,122.0. Dealers said about $140 million of foreign stock funds were converted into the local currency, much less than the $450 million on Tuesday.

"Pressure from foreign investors' buying of local stocks has weakened considerably," said a local bank dealer. "The government's intervention was not strong today."

The dollar/won rate was forecast to move between 1,117 and 1,123 on Thursday.

But rumours that the government may drop the idea of issuing one trillion won in foreign exchange stabilistation bonds dampened the nascent long-dollar sentiment in the afternoon, dragging the dollar/won rate down below the 1,120 level.

A Ministry of Finance and Economy official said on Tuesday the ministry was considering a new bond issue totalling one trillion won. "The timing of the issue will be made after considering the local debt market's situation," he said. Dealers said the yen's movement also affected the dollar/won rate. The yen's fall to its 107.50 after intervention by Japanese monetary authorities fanned the long-dollar bias in the Korean currency market.

But the won rose above the 1,120 level in the afternoon as the yen rebounded to around 107.

The yen was quoted at 107.07/12 per dollar against 107.45/48 late in Tokyo on Tuesday.

In the non-deliverable forward market, the six-month won was quoted at 1,120.5/22.0 against 1,119.5/21.0 late on Tuesday, while the one-year won stood at 1,124.0/26.0 against 1,123.5/25.5.-Reuters

Philippine peso

MANILA: The Philippine peso closed steady on Wednesday, reversing its slide in morning trade due to a lack of of dollar demand and with most banks still long on dollars.

Players earlier drove the peso down to a five-month low to price in the brewing problems hounding the local stock exchange over a price-fixing scandal.

The local currency closed at 40.985 to the dollar against its on Tuesday close of 40.98. It hit an intra-day low of 41.15 within a few minutes after it opened at 41.12. It later recovered to reach a day-high of 40.975 in afternoon trade. "The market was trying to find a right level to discount what's happening with the stock exchange. But the market is well supplied with dollars now, so the market just went back," said a trader from a local bank.

The stock exchange opened for trades as usual on Wednesday after the Securities and Exchange Commission overturned an earlier order suspending market trades.

The suspension order came after the bourse's investigating team resigned en masse in protest against what it said were moves by other bourse officials to protect brokers implicated in a price-fixing scandal involving gaming firm BW Resource Corp.

Traders said the central bank did not intervene in the market although the statement it issued on Tuesday that it was ready to provide liquidty kept the peso from falling further.

"It helped lift sentiment, that's why banks do not want to drive the peso lower," said a trader from a foreign bank. Expectations of more dollar inflows in the coming weeks also kept trading subdued.

Central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said on Wednesday several large inflows of foreign direct investments were expected to help lift the peso next week.

He cited the deal involving Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co wherein $360 million in fresh equity from Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp will be infused in the phone firm.

Value turnover at the Philippine Dealing System, the country's electronic currency trading system, jumped to $223.90 million from on Tuesday's $163.50 million but traders said banks were merely passing dollars to each other.

The peso is expected to be confined within a range of 40.90 to 41.10 as the market keeps a wary eye over developments at the local stock exchange.

"The market remains cautious because of the Dow Jones' sharp drop. Also, the problems of the stock market won't be fixed in a day," said a trader from a foreign bank.-Reuters

Indonesian rupiah

JAKARTA: Indonesia's rupiah was unchanged in thin late trading on Wednesday with players desperately looking for fresh leads while news of lower SBI rates further dampened sentiment.

The rupiah was trading at 7,445/7,460 against 7,450/7,460 in early trade.

"Corporate demand for dollar is still there. I am sure the rupiah will weaken soon to 7,540 and then break the resistance level of 7,600 if no fresh leads emerge," said one local dealer.

Bank Indonesia's one month SBI rates fell to 10.97 percent on Wednesday compared with 11.01 percent last week. Three month rates fell to 10.98 percent from 11.02 last month.

"Lower SBI rates have dampened sentiment. Djoko Tjandra's acquittal in the Bank Bali case has also sparked confusion among investors. whether this country can uphold the law. Noone wants to invest here," said the dealer.

A Jakarta court on Monday dropped an indictment against Tjandra, a defendant in the 546 billion rupiah Bank Bali scandal, on a legal technicality.

Dealers said the country's political front was too dull to affect the market, adding they ignored news President Abdurrahman Wahid had met former President Suharto on Wednesday. Suharto is under official investigation for corruption. He recently failed to make several appearances before parliament and at the Attorney-General's office for questioning over alleged corruption at several charity foundations he controlled.-Reuters