The Malaysian ringgit led a slide in many Asian currencies on Wednesday, weighed down by Japan's first foreign exchange intervention in six years that sent the yen tumbling. Tokyo's intervention, designed to stem the economic damage from a strong yen, also lifted Japanese stocks.
In afternoon trade, the dollar was up 2.2 percent at 84.90 yen, rebounding from a 15-year low of 82.87 yen hit in early trade. The Malaysian ringgit slid 0.46 percent to 3.1185 per dollar as the US currency rose broadly following Bank of Japan intervention to weaken the yen. It recovered in early afternoon to 3.1130. The Thai baht fell in active trade, tracking the yen's hefty loss against the dollar after the Bank of Japan's intervention.
The baht slid to a morning low of 30.87 per dollar from a high of 30.73 shortly after the opening. It settled at 30.85, down 0.19 percent from late Tuesday. The South Korean won eased against the dollar as Japan's intervention to check the yen's strength heightened jitters about further dollar buying by the Korean authorities. The won, coming under pressure as investors covered short dollar positions, was quoted at 1,162.0 per dollar against Tuesday's close of 1,161.7. Earlier it strengthened to 1,157.2, the highest since August 9.
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