Won, peso tumble

The dollar rose broadly against emerging Asian currencies on Thursday, with the South Korean won hitting a six-month low on selling by offshore players and stop-loss offers. The Indonesian rupiah stabilised somewhat after selling off sharply the previous day, when offshore real money investors were selling Indonesian government bonds. The rupiah fell but stayed above a trough hit on Wednesday.
Pressure on emerging Asian currencies persisted overall, with the Malaysian ringgit hitting a nine-month trough and the Philippine peso dipping to its lowest in six months. Dollar/rupiah stabilised somewhat after surging to its highest since late February of around 8,840 in the brokers' market on Wednesday. One trader said Thursday's high in dollar/rupiah was 8,800.
Dollar-buying by offshore players was less active on Thursday than the previous day, traders said, adding that dollar-selling intervention by Indonesia's central bank helped temper the dollar's gains. Dollar selling against the won by onshore players initially weighed on the dollar, but momentum players and custodial names later bought dollar/won on dips.
Dollar-selling intervention by South Korea's central bank helped temper the dollar's gains against the won, traders said. Dollar/ringgit hit a fresh nine-month high of 3.1030. Fast money and model accounts were cited as pushing dollar/ringgit higher. In addition, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said onshore and offshore players were spotted selling Malaysian government securities and buying dollar/ringgit. Dollar/peso hit a six-month high of 43.700. It was supported by USD short-covering by real money investors, traders said, adding that the Philippine central bank conducted dollar-selling intervention to cap the dollar's rise.