Baht, Rupiah take a knock

ASIAN CURRENCIES ROUND-UP

Thailand's baht fell, snapping a 13-day rally that brought it near a decade high, as Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn said the nation is considering allowing exporters to hold foreign currency revenue for longer.

Chalongphob's comments came after Governor Tarisa Watanagase said yesterday the central bank will propose new measures to limit currency fluctuations. Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday said ``what we can do is try to stabilize the baht,'' spurring speculation authorities will purchase the U.S. currency.

The baht fell 0.3 percent to 33.35 per dollar in onshore trading as of 3:18 p.m. in Bangkok, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In the offshore market, the currency held at 30.15.

Indonesian Rupiah
Indonesia's rupiah fell for a second day on speculation some state-owned companies boosted demand for the dollar to settle payments for crude oil imports.

Southeast Asia's biggest oil and gas producer needs to import a third of its oil product requirements because its refining capacity isn't sufficient to meet consumption. PT Pertamina, the state oil and gas company, said on June 12 it plans to import 4.5 million barrels of sweet crude oil for delivery this month.

"There may have been some dollar buying by Pertamina due to the high oil prices,'' Yoshikoshi said. ``The rupiah may decline toward the end of September.'' Indonesia's currency dropped 0.2 percent to 9,063, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The rupiah may fall to 9,200 by the end of the third quarter, Yoshikoshi said.

Malaysian Ringgit
Malaysia's ringgit fell on speculation deepening losses in U.S. subprime mortgages will deter investors from buying more emerging-market assets.

The currency declined 0.1 percent to 3.4445, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It may trade between 3.43 and 3.46 in the next month, Sivanesan said.

Peso
The Philippine peso gained for a fourth day, taking the currency to the strongest since September 2000, on speculation foreign funds were buying shares in initial public offerings.

The peso rose 0.7 percent to 45.24 against the dollar as of 4:00 p.m. in Manila, according to Tullett Prebon Plc, the world's second-largest inter-dealer broker.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Singapore dollar fell 0.1 percent to S$1.5171 and the Vietnamese dong held at 16,136. The Taiwan dollar closed at NT$32.825 from NT$32.808 yesterday, according to Taipei Forex Inc.