Asian currencies stay mostly fragile
REUTER
TOKYO, Jan 9: Asian currencies stayed mostly fragile on Friday after recent free-falls, but hopes that central banks in the Asia-Pacific may act jointly against slides of currencies in the region, supported them against the dollar.Indonesia's rupiah, which had smashed below 10,000 to the dollar yesterday, surged to a high of 7,900 following selling of dollars by some state banks, dealers said. They said the rupiah was quoted at 7,750/8,500 in the early trades, compared with today's opening rate of 10,500/11,500. Trading became nervous as wild rumours of riots and increased troop presence spread quickly. ``These are all baseless rumours. The only true one was that there was a rush on basic commodities. I think Singapore players have built up extensive long dollar positions,'' said one US bank dealer in Jakarta. Thursday's plunge came after the IMF urged the Indonesian government to comply with austerity terms of the fund's $40 billion bailout package. Meanwhile, Malaysian prime minister Mahathir
Mohamad reiterated that his country does not need financial aid from the IMF, saying Malaysia's fundamentals remained sound although its growth was expected to be at a more moderate level than in the past. Meanwhile, AFP adds from Jakarta, a senior military commander denied rumours of a coup today and assured Indonesians that the capital was "safe and secure" amid reports of possible unrest because of the country's economic meltdown."I firmly say that the present situation in Jakarta is in a safe and secure condition," said the capital's military commander Major General Syafrie Syamauddin. Indonesians have rushed to supermarkets and other stores to purchase rice and other staples on Thursday as the rupiah plunged through the 10,000 to the dollar level.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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