Taiwan Dollar, Ringgit, Singapore Dollar: Asia Currency Preview

By Bob Chen

Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic reports may influence trading in Asian currencies today.

Exchange rates are from the previous session.

Japanese yen: Financial markets are closed today for a public holiday.

The yen was at 106.64 a dollar at 8:45 a.m. in New York.

Hong Kong dollar: Inflation slowed for the first time in five months, a government report showed yesterday. Consumer prices rose 4.6 percent in August from a year earlier, after increasing 6.3 percent in July.

The balance-of-payments surplus narrowed to $10.26 billion in the second quarter from $55.03 billion at the end of the first, another report showed yesterday.

The Hong Kong dollar was at HK$7.7727.

Taiwan dollar: Export orders grew 5.2 percent in August from a year earlier, the slowest pace in more than five years, economists said in a Bloomberg survey before the government reports the data at 4 p.m. in Taipei. Factory output rose 2.55 percent in August, compared with a 1.1 percent gain the previous month, another survey showed. The industrial production report is due at 4 p.m.

The jobless rate climbed to 3.93 percent in August, the highest since February, from 3.91 percent in July, the statistics bureau reported yesterday after trading hours.

The Taiwan dollar was at NT$32.03.

Malaysian ringgit: Consumer prices rose 8.4 percent in August, a Bloomberg survey showed before tomorrow's report by the statistics department. Prices gained 8.5 percent in July, the biggest increase in 27 years. The government has no plan to peg the ringgit to the dollar again, Finance Minister Najib Razak said yesterday.

Foreign-exchange reserves were at $119.06 billion as of Sept. 15, slipping from $122.58 billion at the end of Aug. 29, Bank Negara reported yesterday. The statistics department will report the second-quarter current-account balance today.

The ringgit was at 3.4144.

Singapore dollar: Consumer prices rose 6.4 percent in August from a year earlier, slowing from a 6.5 percent gain the previous month, economists said in a Bloomberg survey before the government reports the data at 1 p.m. local time.

The city-state's dollar was at S$1.4155.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Chen in Hong Kong at bchen45@bloomberg.net.