Inflows into a rising stock market buoyed the South Korean won and helped it rally nearly one percent against the dollar on Tuesday, even as the US currency edged up against the jittery yen. The Indonesian rupiah also had a big intra-day swing, boosted by yield-seeking investment flows into its bond market.
The dollar rose from an eight-month low against the yen as speculators trimmed short dollar positions and after Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii again modified his message on currency policy, saying intervention is possible in extreme cases.
RUPIAH The Indonesian rupiah rose 0.6 percent to 9,715 per dollar from the day's lows of 9,770, underpinned by rising share prices and continued demand for rupiah government bonds. "It seems market is still keen on the interest rate differential," said a Jakarta-based trader. The currency is Asia's top performer this year. The Jakarta Composite Index was up 1.57 percent at 2435.50.
PESO The Philippine peso rose 0.5 percent to 47.51 per dollar from the day's lows of 47.74 reached when banks initially pushed the dollar higher in anticipation of month-end demand from corporates and financial institutions.
The currency later rallied against the dollar, which gained ground against the yen and kept overnight gains against the euro. "Banks wanted to push it higher initially, but later after the morning fixing they had to sell whatever dollars they had. Hopefully we are going to see 47.30 tomorrow," a Manila-based trader said.