LONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The rand slipped on Friday,
shaken by further Asian gloom and regional shock waves from
bomb blasts at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, analysts
said.
Most emerging Asian currencies eased in a lukewarm market
response to Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's debut policy
speech to parliament and continuing fears of a Chinese currency
devaluation, while profit-taking and concerns about Russia
sapped recent Central European currency strength.
"In terms of wider uncertainty the bombs don't help the
rand," said David Simmonds, a senior emerging markets analyst
at Citibank in London.
"South Africa is extremely different from the rest of the
region but it's another complicating factor in terms of the
South African financial markets. Plus there's been another very
shaky performance in Asia."
The rand fell to test 6.3 to the dollar bid, and at 1400
GMT it was at 6.2875, nearly two percent lower than the 6.165
seen in midday London trading on Thursday.
The South African unit has lost around 25 percent of its
value against the dollar since late May, when it was hit by an
earlier wave of negative sentiment sweeping the world's
emerging markets.
Two bombs exploded within minutes of each other on Friday
morning outside the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es
Salaam, killing more than 30 people and injuring more than
1,000, and the death toll was expected to rise. No one has
claimed responsibility.
Kenya's foreign currency and stock markets closed after the
Nairobi blast, leaving the shilling virtually unchanged at 59
to the dollar.
Simmonds said the volume of foreign investment in Kenya and
Tanzania was already so low that the explosions had little
local market significance.
But, though South Africa was both geographically and
economically distant, some investors would fail to make such
distinctions and take fright over Africa as a whole.
In addition, analysts said the rand had recently taken its
lead more from Asia than emerging Europe.
The Asian mood was again subdued. Uninspiring news from
Japan, where Obuchi's plans to revive the economy failed to
impress investors, pushed the yen back over 145 to the dollar,
and there was continuing concern that the authorities in
Beijing and Hong Kong might be pressured into devaluing their
currencies.
Analysts said the 9.1 percent devaluation of the Vietnamese
dong might have weighed slightly on neighbouring currencies
such as the baht and rupiah, because of regional competition
for export markets.
Most emerging Asian currencies softened slightly. The baht
was at 41.85 per dollar at 1400 GMT against 41.47 at midday on
Thursday, the rupiah eased to 12,700 from 12,600 and the
ringgit reached 4.2002 from 4.18. The won was fractionally
stronger at 1,324 from 1,328.
The Czech crown and the Polish zloty both lost steam amid
profit-taking and concern over renewed pressure on Russian
markets, and the forint also lost ground, analysts said.
"It's driven by what's happening in the emerging markets in
general, and the continuing fall in Russian asset prices hasn't
helped," said one analyst at a London bank, who asked not to be
named.
"At times like this people do tend to take profits, and
that's what's happening with Poland, the Czech Republic and
Hungary."
With Russian dollar-denominated debt plumbing new record
lows, analysts said the central bank was having to dig into its
reserves to keep the rouble within its intervention corridor.
The zloty dropped sharply back from Thursday's record high
close of 9.10/9.07 percent above parity in Warsaw, where it
ended the day at 8.66/8.55 percent over. In London it was 3.44
bid against the dollar and 1.942 against the mark, from 3.4185
and 1.9325 respectively on Thursday.
The Czech crown weakened to 17.411 bid against the mark
from Thursday's 17.296, and analysts said concern about Czech
economic stagnation was coming to the fore.
The forint eased to 122.38 per mark from 121.79 on
Thursday.
FOREX MARKETS SNAPSHOT. The following is a snapshot of
emerging markets currency rates. Double-click on currency codes
for updated price quotes.
* ASIA <AFX=>
* Indonesian rupiah <IDR=> 12,700 per dollar bid vs 12,600
around midday in London on Thursday.
* Malaysian ringgit <MYR=> 4.2002 per dollar bid vs 4.18
* Thai baht <THB=TH> 41.85 per dollar bid vs 41.47
* Philippine peso <PHP=> 42.5 per dollar bid vs 42.6
* South Korean won <KRW=> at 1,324 per dollar vs 1,328
* Singapore dollar <SGD=> 1.749 per dollar versus 1.734
* Indian rupee <INR=> 42.57 per dollar vs 42.45.
* EUROPE <EUROPEFX=>
* Russian rouble <RUB=> at 6.2885 per dollar bid vs 6.285 on
Thursday.
* Zloty 8.66/8.55 percent above target basket parity vs
9.10/9.07 at the close in Warsaw on Thursday.
* Mark/Czech crown <DEMCZK=> at 17.411 bid vs 17.296
* Slovak crown <DEMSKK=> 19.6 on mark vs 19.56
* Hungarian forint <DEMHUF=> 122.38 vs mark against 121.79
* Ukrainian hryvnia <UAH=> at 2.1423 per dollar vs 2.142
* Romanian leu <ROL=> at 8,705 per dollar vs 8,715
* AFRICA <AFRICAFX=> & MIDEAST <MEFX=>
* Israeli shekel <ILS=> 3.7147 bid on dollar from Thursday's
3.6504
* South African rand <ZAR=> at 6.2875 per dollar vs 6.165
* Kenyan shilling <KES=> at 59 vs 58.95
* LATIN AMERICA <LATAMFX=>
* Mexican peso <MXN=> at 9.015 per dollar vs 8.98
* Brazil's real <BRL=> at 1.1677 per dollar vs 1.1669
((Gill Tudor, London newsroom +44 171 542 6414, fax 583
7239, uk.emergingmarkets.news@reuters.com))
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