經濟廣角:亞洲多家央行出手干預匯市

Asia tries to slow decline of dollar
Asian central banks intervened heavily in the currency markets yesterday to stem the appreciation of their currencies against the US dollar amid fears that their exports could be losing ground against China.

The mainly south-east Asian countries have been spurred to defend the competitiveness of their currencies by China's decision to, in effect, re-peg the renminbi to the dollar since July last year.

Simon Derrick, at Bank of New York Mellon, in London, said: “Other Asian central banks outside China are naturally looking to aggressively defend their competitive edge against undesirable currency strength as the dollar weakens.”

After allowing the renminbi to appreciate by about 20 per against the US dollar from mid-2005, Beijing re-pegged its currency to the greenback when export growth contracted.

The US dollar hit one-year lows against regional currencies, including the South Korean won, the Indian rupee and the Indonesian rupiah.

The dollar index, which tracks its value against six major currencies, hit a 14-month low in afternoon trading in New York.

The central banks identified by traders as significant buyers of US dollars included Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan. Hong Kong and Singapore, which both have managed currency regimes, were also buyers.

The US dollar weakness pushed commodity prices higher. Gold prices hit an all-time high for the third day in a row, trading at $1,061.2 a troy ounce. Key base metals such as aluminium and copper jumped 4.0 per cent while crude oil surged almost $3 a barrel to more than $70 a barrel.

The moves to limit Asian currency appreciation will provide ammunition to those who warn that the new Group of 20 framework for strong and balanced growth is toothless.

Less than a week after the world's finance ministers and central bankers agreed to foster more balanced world economic growth in Istanbul, Asian officials have intervened to prevent exchange rates playing their part in the process.

However, traders said that the intervention appeared to be aimed at controlling the pace at which the US dollar declines rather than solely being an attempt to stop Asian currencies appreciating.

亞洲多家央行昨日大舉干預外匯市場，以阻止本幣兌美元升值，因爲他們擔心本國在出口上輸給中國。

自去年7月以來，中國實際上決定將人民幣重新與美元掛鉤，這促使許多亞洲經濟體（主要是東南亞國家）捍衛本幣的競爭力。

紐約梅隆銀行(Bank of New York Mellon)駐倫敦分析師西蒙•德里克(Simon Derrick)表示：“隨着美元走軟，面對不希望看到的本幣走強局面，中國以外的亞洲國家央行自然要大力維護自身的競爭優勢。”

2005年中，中國政府允許人民幣兌美元升值約20%，而隨着出口增長的放緩，北京方面將人民幣重新盯住了美元。

美元兌韓元、印度盧比和印尼盾等亞洲貨幣的匯率均觸及一年低位。

紐約匯市後市交易中，美元指數跌至14個月低點。該指數追蹤美元相對於6種主要貨幣的價值。

交易員指出，大舉買入美元的包括泰國、馬來西亞和臺灣等地的央行。實行管理下的匯率機制的香港和新加坡也買入了美元。

美元疲軟推高了大宗商品價格。金價連續第3天創下歷史新高，報每盎司1061.2美元。鋁和銅等基礎金屬價格上揚4.0%；原油每桶上漲近3美元，至每桶70美元以上。

此番阻止亞洲貨幣升值的舉動將爲某些人提供彈藥，這些人警告稱，旨在推動全球經濟強勁、均衡增長的G20框架軟弱無力。

距離各國財長和央行行長在伊斯坦布爾就促進全球經濟平衡增長達成共識不到一週時間，亞洲官員已在出手干預，阻止匯率在這一進程中發揮應有作用。

不過，交易員稱，他們的干預行動似乎是爲了控制美元貶值的步伐，而非單純地想要阻止亞洲貨幣升值。