Ringgit, baht fall

Offshore funds reduced exposure to emerging Asian currencies on Thursday ahead of a key German vote on a eurozone rescue scheme, with importers' demand for dollars at the end of the quarter adding to the downward pressure. Regional currencies found some relief as the euro rebounded to above 1.36 per dollar and riskier assets gained on short-covering amid hopes Germany's parliament will approve new powers for the 440 billion euro ($600 billion) rescue fund.
On Thursday, central banks of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were spotted selling dollars, while there was a talk of South Korea supplying dollars. The won fell slightly on importers' dollar demand for end-quarter and end-month settlements, although it recovered most of earlier losses on exporters' deals. The South Korean currency ended local trade down 0.2 percent at 1,173.5, after weakening to as soft as 1,185.1.
The ringgit gapped weaker against the dollar and stayed under pressure from real money funds and model accounts, while the Malaysian central bank was spotted selling dollars. The central bank was seen capping 3.1890 per dollar, dealers said. The Philippine peso slid against the dollar on fixing-related selling and amid worries about the eurozone's debt crisis before the German vote. Real money funds also continued to sell the peso.
The rupiah weakened with onshore banks seen bidding for dollars at 9,000 per dollar, dealers said. The Indonesian central bank was spotted selling small amount of dollars through brokers at 8,930 and 8,925, but players stayed interested in buying the greenback. The Singapore dollar started softer and weakened past 1.30 per the US dollar earlier.