Asian currencies up

Asian currencies rallied in thin trade on Tuesday, supported by a modest rebound in the battered euro as the European Union struggled to work out a rescue plan for debt-ridden Greece. The Singapore dollar and Philippine peso led the Asian gains. The euro edged up but remained near nine-month lows against the dollar as the outcome of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers failed to instil confidence that Greece's debt problems would be resolved quickly.
Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker said euro zone finance ministers had agreed Greece should propose new measures by March 16 to meet deficit targets and if Greece appears to be off course, additional measures would be requested. Moderate gains in higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars helped to lift the euro slightly, but the single currency remained under downward pressure, traders said.
PESO The Philippine peso gained about 0.3 percent to test 46.15 per dollar in lacklustre trade vs 46.29 late on Monday, broadly in line with its generally bullish Asian peers, helped by a euro rebound and remittance inflows.
"Depending on the overall dollar performance, the next resistance for the peso is 46.00. All eyes are still on Greece and the euro rebound looks brief until a real solution is found for its debt problems," a Manila-based dealer said. A second trader expected the peso to track Asian currencies and range from 46.10-30/dollar on Tuesday.
WON The South Korean won recovered most of its earlier losses thanks to a local stock market rally. The won was quoted at 1,152.3/2.6 per dollar, compared with Friday's domestic close of 1,151.3. Initially, the currency fell as low as 1,157.5.
"Investors seem to build up dollar-short positions on strong stocks and the impact from China's move are seen as limited," a local bank dealer said. Seoul shares were up 0.50 percent with foreign investors buying a net 64.6 billion won worth of stocks on the main exchange. South Korean markets were closed on Monday for a holiday.
BAHT The Thai baht was stable at around 33.17-18 per dollar in listless trade with many investors sidelined by the Lunar New Year holidays or waiting for more clarity on how Greek debt problems would be tackled.
"The baht continues to show no impact from possible Thai political turbulence in the next two weeks but the Thaksin case cannot avoid being a market focus," a Bangkok-based trader said. A second dealer said technical charts point to the dollar remaining bullish, keeping dollar/baht in a narrow 33.16-21 range against 33.17 bid.