经济广角:亚洲多家央行出手干预汇市

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.

亚洲多家央行昨日大举干预外汇市场，以阻止本币兑美元升值，因为他们担心本国在出口上输给中国。

自去年7月以来，中国实际上决定将人民币重新与美元挂钩，这促使许多亚洲经济体（主要是东南亚国家）捍卫本币的竞争力。

纽约梅隆银行(Bank of New York Mellon)驻伦敦分析师西蒙•德里克(Simon Derrick)表示：“随着美元走软，面对不希望看到的本币走强局面，中国以外的亚洲国家央行自然要大力维护自身的竞争优势。”

2005年中，中国政府允许人民币兑美元升值约20%，而随着出口增长的放缓，北京方面将人民币重新盯住了美元。

美元兑韩元、印度卢比和印尼盾等亚洲货币的汇率均触及一年低位。

纽约汇市后市交易中，美元指数跌至14个月低点。该指数追踪美元相对于6种主要货币的价值。

交易员指出，大举买入美元的包括泰国、马来西亚和台湾等地的央行。实行管理下的汇率机制的香港和新加坡也买入了美元。

美元疲软推高了大宗商品价格。金价连续第3天创下历史新高，报每盎司1061.2美元。铝和铜等基础金属价格上扬4.0%；原油每桶上涨近3美元，至每桶70美元以上。

此番阻止亚洲货币升值的举动将为某些人提供弹药，这些人警告称，旨在推动全球经济强劲、均衡增长的G20框架软弱无力。

距离各国财长和央行行长在伊斯坦布尔就促进全球经济平衡增长达成共识不到一周时间，亚洲官员已在出手干预，阻止汇率在这一进程中发挥应有作用。

不过，交易员称，他们的干预行动似乎是为了控制美元贬值的步伐，而非单纯地想要阻止亚洲货币升值。