Asian regional currencies rise on yen's coat-tails

Asian regional currencies, except for the Thai baht, were higher on Tuesday, helped by the Japanese yen's rise against the US dollar.
As the yen steadied on the stronger side of the 110 a dollar level, the Singapore dollar rose through 1.7100 per dollar, the South Korean won tested highs at 1,170 and the Taiwan dollar touched a four-session peak of 33.343.
The biggest gainer of the day was the thinly traded Indonesian rupiah which rose more than half a percent to a high of 8,590 per dollar.
The rupiah had been under selling pressure on security and political concerns ahead of parliamentary elections starting on April 5 and as global investors recently begun to lighten their exposure to high yielding currencies.
While analysts generally expect the worries to persist, they said the risk premium on Indonesian assets might not rise to alarming levels.
"Political risk premium is unlikely to be high. The market confidence over Indonesia remains strong," said Wong Chee Seng, economist at DBS Bank in Singapore, adding the rupiah should remain relatively stable through the year.
Standard Chartered's economist in Jakarta, Fauzi Ichsan said political concerns were likely to peak in the July-September presidential election period and could pull the rupiah as low as 8,700 per dollar.
"But the likelihood of a smooth election and a new government that remains market-friendly are likely to help the rupiah strengthen again, especially in Q4, 2004," he wrote in a recent research report.
He expected the rupiah to end the year around 8,000 per dollar, from around 8,420 at the end of 2003.
Expectations of a US interest rate hike this year have been scaled back due to persistent weakness in jobs data, but markets will scrutinise the Fed's statement for indications of when its next move might be.
The Thai baht bucked the broader trend, weighed down by recent net sales of local stocks by foreign investors. The baht fell as low as 39.53 per dollar, its lowest since March 8, before exporters jumped in to sell dollars.
Foreigners have sold about 3.5 billion baht worth of Thai stocks in the past two sessions.
Dealers in Bangkok said the baht's decline could intensify if the currency fell through the 39.65 level, a two-month low hit earlier this month.
The Philippine peso was a touch higher at 56.24 per dollar, from Monday's local close of 56.30.