ASIAN currencies may remain in the firing line this week although the Hong Kong dollar storm appears to have blown itself out, economists said yesterday.
Although the dollar is not out of the woods yet it was trading much more comfortably in London and New York overnight and a more stable climate was expected this week.
The currency closed in New York at 7.7530 to 7.7550, down slightly from its Hong Kong close of 7.7500 7.7520.
'This leg of the crisis is probably over but it is possible that the moves taken by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority [HKMA] were not sufficient to scare off speculative attacks for good,' said Jacob Lund of GT Management.
The HKMA had gained a lot of credibility over the past week with its actions to defend the currency. It had shown its commitment and some of its armoury against speculative pressures, he said.
'Other countries in the region are likely to be targeted before the dollar from here on in,' he said.
But despite the support for the Hong Kong unit, other Asian currencies could still be under threat.
