Southeast Asian Currencies Mixed Versus Dollar, Friday, June 15, 2007 10:22:10 AM

The Southeast Asian currencies experienced mixed results versus the American dollar Friday morning in New York. The South Korean won edged slightly higher versus its American counterpart while the Singapore dollar was mostly choppy. Meanwhile, the Indonesian rupiah retreated.

The Singapore dollar was largely uncertain versus the greenback Friday morning in New York. The Singapore currency fell during the mid-morning, reaching an intraday low of 1.5431 at 7:20 am ET. The Singapore dollar rebounded from some of its losses over the next couple hours, reaching a mark of 1.5407 at 9:58 am. This is compared to an intraday high of 1.5398 at 9:40 am. Traders considered data showing that Singapore`s retail sales fell 5.2% on month during April.

The Indonesian rupiah lost ground against the American dollar Friday morning in New York. The rupiah advanced during the early morning, reaching an intraday high of 9040.00 at 4:40 am ET. The Indonesian currency could not sustain its gains, however, falling to an intraday low of 9100.00 at 8 am. The rupiah rebounded slightly from those losses, fetching a mark of 9095.00 at 10:08 am. Traders considered Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla`s statement that the nation`s interest rate could be cut to 8% this year. The central bank cut its benchmark rate to 8.5% earlier this month.

The South Korean won edged higher against the greenback Friday morning in New York. The South Korean currency lost ground in the early morning, hitting an intraday low of around 929.50 at about 1:30 am ET. The won began to advance just before 2 am, hitting an intraday high of about 927.85 at 8 am. The South Korean won gave back some of its gains after that, fetching a mark of 927.44 at 10:09 am.

Singapore retail sales fell 5.2% on a monthly basis in April, the statistical office said Friday. This compares to 4.3% growth in March. Excluding motor vehicle sales, retail sales dropped 2.8%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales showed a monthly growth of 3.5%, reversing 5.7% decline in March. Sales of food and beverages, motor vehicles declined, while sales of provision and sundry shops, supermarkets, optical goods and books increased. Retail sales improved 0.7% annually versus 6.0% decline in March. Economists expected a growth rate of 1.5%.

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