SINGAPORE -- Most Asian currencies moved in narrow ranges on Wednesday in dull trade ahead of yearend holidays, but the volatile South Korean won gained more than 2.0 percent on suspected official intervention.
The won rose as far as 1,308.9 per dollar from Tuesday's domestic close of 1,338.0, as dealers cited suspected dollar-selling intervention by the authorities.
But the won remains the worst performing currency in Asia with a loss of nearly 29 percent against the dollar this year.
The Thai baht moved between 34.58 and 34.65 per dollar while the Singapore dollar was shackled within the range of 1.447-1.4525 to the US dollar.
"The dollar/baht is likely to be range-bound as holiday mode begun," said a trader in Bangkok.
But traders still warned that the baht could face some selling pressures in the near term amid fears of a sharp economic downturn in the region as major economies slip into recession.
The US housing market took a sharp turn for the worse while Spain joined a growing list of countries in a recession that shows no sign of abating.
The Indonesian rupiah lost almost half of a percent to 11,200 per $1.00 due to stronger corporate dollar demand for yearend settlements while the central bank was seen refraining from selling dollars to support the rupiah.
"It's all trigged by the year-end corporate buying. BI (the central bank) is just watching and calling bankers -- they are not actively selling," said a trader in Jakarta.
Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank, has regularly intervened in the market to prop up the local unit.
The Chinese yuan moved between 6.8482 and 6.8518 per dollar, as Commerce Minister Chen Deming reaffirmed the stance that China will not devalue its currency to boost exports.
The yuan is up 6.6 percent against the dollar this year, but its gains have virtually stalled since July and the market has already priced in its weakening in the near-term as the economy slowed.
The yuan in six-month offshore non-deliverable forwards inched down to 7.02 per dollar on Wednesday from 6.99 on Tuesday, implying a 2.4 percent fall against the dollar over the next six months.
